


From Penguin Village with Love

by RisanF



Category: Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-04 15:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1783846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisanF/pseuds/RisanF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Goku prepares for the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budokai, a impromptu appointment with Chi-Chi sends him on a wild goose chase; just when training was getting good! But when he takes a wrong turn to a certain island village, he reunites with an old friend who just happens to be waiting for him, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Smile That's a Bomb

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Dragon Ball is the property of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies, as well as all characters within. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.
> 
> Legend:  
> ( ) Denotes thoughts.  
> { } Denotes sound effects.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goku flies across the seas looking for Chi-Chi, and runs into trouble with a local island police department.

         {TMP!}{TMP!}{TMP!} Somewhere, on a large island in an unknown part of the world, the steady beat of leather against wood created an echo within a small confine called home. A little girl was tapping her feet on the floor, beating the toes of her shoes over and over in the same, restless fashion. She was sprawled on a circular rug, her elbows digging little potholes in the fuzzy material. Below her nose was a calendar, turned to the 31 days of October, and in her eyes were the scrolling dates that covered it, as well as the hope that today would be the day.  
  
         "Hmm…" the girl mumbled, trailing her finger over the five-day workweek. "Monday was a rainy day, and Tuesday was a hailey day. Wednesday and Thursday, everybody was runnin' from Mr. Monster. Which means…" She smiled open-heartedly. "Maybe he'll come today!"  
  
         With a wacky little tune bouncing from her lips, the girl circled "Friday" with a red Crayola crayon, grinning in satisfaction upon completion. Then, she drew a picture of Ultraman, Godzilla, and two little cupid things with curly hair and angel wings. Giggling to herself, she continued to add more friends for her comic-book characters, each one badly drawn and a mockery of their former selves.  
  
         Before she could get too carried away, though, an odd sound quaked from outside the windowpane. {gwoon----n…!} The girl ceased her sketches for the moment, and looked towards the source of the noise. "Hoyo?" She moved closer to get a better look, peering through the glass at the outside yard. And {ZOOM!!!} a small yellow shape darted through the skies, leaving behind a dense trail of smoke from whence it had come.  
  
         She stared in awe at the fleeing phantasm, her eyes carefully following its path to the distance. Then, her mouth erupted in a huge grin. "That must be him!"  
  
         With renewed energy, the girl kicked open the window and jumped five feet to the ground. Landing with a {DMP!}, she quickly started a run towards the mystery shape, clearing two meters with every step. Faster and faster she ran, gaining speeds that should've been impossible to obtain. Soon, she was an intangible blur, racing through the island with over-exuberant joy, and no regards for anybody in the way.  
  
         "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin...!" The girl tore down the road, arms spread and making a sound very similar to the shape she was chasing. Though it seemed impossible, her speed kicked up to an even higher level, moving up to a pace equal to an airplane's MACH 3. Everything became a collage of color and shade, and it was hard to draw distinction to any object. In the end, she was going so fast, she couldn't see the patrol car riding from the junction. Even when she actually crashed into the vehicle, she seemed to be no more aware of her surroundings than ever. (though it really didn't matter, as only the patrol car was harmed by this encounter)  
  
         The wreckage of the car left behind, she continued her mad dash, getting closer and closer to the target. The girl looked up with a girl, seeing the mystery shape once again. "There it is!" she squealed, moving down another stretch of verdant plains. "I c'n almost see 'im!" Her smile brightened a few notches. "Maybe he can see me!"  
  
         The girl looked up to the sky, where the shape was just coming into view. She waved to the shape "Yo, Go…huh?" Digging her heels into the dirt, she came to a grinding halt into the ground. Her eyes moved up to the clouds, still hopeful for her friend to appear. But soon they turned to disappointment, as she found the fruit of her voyage; a small advertising blimp, nothing more. "Oh…"  
  
         Her quest ended in failure, the girl tilted her head towards the ground, trying to figure out what had happened. "I guess…" she started slowly."…he'll come tomorrow." With that said, she tried a small smile, attempting to find the silver lining in this stormy nimbus. Soon though, it had faded, and she found herself looking to the sky once again; though this time it wasn't to look for the shape gone past, but the shape yet to come.  
  
         In the heavens, there was a multitude of cumulus clouds making their way on the southern wind. The girl stared at each one of them, a somewhat wistful look in her features. All of the clouds looked like something on her mind, even the small, formless ones. And one of them looked suspiciously like a young boy, with spiky hair and, perhaps, a bright smile.  
  
         "Go-kun…" she whispered to the wind. "Where are you?"  
  
-  
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 **From Penguin Village with Love**  
  
 **By Reid M. Haynes**

  
 **Tale 1: A Smile That's a Bomb**  
  
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*****  
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         The wide, blue ocean. Present only on our own planet, it remains a monument of work and love that only a god could create. Like a never-ending mirror, it reflects cloud after cloud of the noontime in crystal clarity, revealing none of its contents underneath. And yet, unlike that mirror, life was everywhere, in the air as well as in the deep, and they all enjoyed the reservoirs of riches that this plundering expanse had to give.  
  
         An entire world for the more intrepid explorer to feast his fancy on, if he could only see it as more than a desert of water.  
  
         "Kaw, KAW!!!" Amongst the meridian skies, a flock of crows cut a penetrating swath down. They made an impressive armada over the tropical islands, staying in a rough but solid formation. With an eye for war, they regarded their teammates warily for domination of their team, expect a mutiny at any moment. Luckily, this did not stop them from keeping their main attentions on their flight path, which just might have saved their lives.  
  
         {vyooooo…!}Thanks to a keen fight/flight instinct, the lead crow caught an odd sound coming just beyond the horizon. It was unbelievably fast, so it probably was a predator. The bird made a cartoonish quirk of the beak something that could probably pass for a smile. Whatever this freak was, his fearless squad of fighters would most certainly… {HYUUUN!} But before he could further this annoying boasting, the guy was already on top of them, going right for the fleet of fowl. Frozen in utter disbelief, the leader had time only to utter one monosyllabic word. "Crap!" and then they were all knocked out of the air, each of the group flying to a different part of the sea.  
  
         Before hitting the hard, never-ending mirror, the leader took a last glare at its assailant and sneered rabidly. "Asshole!"  
  
         But it wasn't an asshole; it was a boy. And a somewhat absent minded one at that.  
  
         "Golly!" Aboard the legendary Kinto'un, thirteen-year-old Son Goku tried his best to gather his bearings. "Where am I now?!" Reaching into his satchel, the monkey-tailed boy lifted out a map, unfolding it and settling back on his cloud to read. His eyes sought out the caption, struggling to comprehend the symbols and reference he had written on it. But, finding such words as "TREEZ" and "WATUR," he decided that cartography was a better profession for smart people, and he threw the thing away.  
  
         As the map fluttered over the ocean, Goku groaned depressingly, looking towards his apparel and trying to brush away its wrinkles. His entire outfit was covered in two days' worth of exploration: dirt, mud stains, even a few twigs had woven their way into the gi. He had been wandering around the world for that time, searching out every locale that resembled what he was looking for. Since then, he had turned up empty-handed four times, and he had found enough failure to sap away his appetite, and wear his happy-go-lucky attitude down to a tired, mediocre boredom.  
  
         Like a great deal of his problems, it was all one of those "gurls'" fault. Again he had somehow gotten wrangled by what Bulma called "the fairer sex," and he was traveling by somebody else's will on some weird trip. To tell the truth, he was actually supposed to be on a worldwide walk for three years, and wasn't even allowed to use his Kinto'un. But Chichi apparently had other plans, and you just couldn't say no to someone like that.  
  
         "I've been waiting for a chance to be alone with you," Chichi had said, giving him her best "twinkly eyed girl" look. "Let's meet at our special spot, tomorrow night, under the stars."  
  
         "Special spot?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.  
  
         "The old oak tree, of course," she answered matter-of-factly, still smiling. Then, she slapped him a wink. "I'll be waiting…"  
  
         "But there are a lotta big trees in the world!" Goku complained, bringing our flashback to an end. "How'm I supposed to find just one, out of all'a them?!" The boy slumped down on the cloud, laying his elbows down and pushing his fists into his cheeks. "I thought dates were a kind of fruit," he pondered in an irritated manner. "Are oak trees where dates come from?"  
  
         Finding no obvious answer to this enigma, he looked back towards the southern vista, grabbing his bearings. Goku exhaled, and stretched his legs. "Well, standin' here all day's no good," he said, narrowing his eyes at the blinding sun. "Guess if I keep goin' this way, I'll eventually run into some trees. Alright!" His countenance turned focused, and he made a stance. "Let's go, Kinto'un!" he called to his ride.  
  
         And {HYUUUN!} the boy and cloud took off for the mainland, leaving a trail of gold and emerald following them to adventure…and danger.  
  
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*****  
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         The mustached man regarded the blipping sensor with something akin to shock. "Oh no!" he whispered, with eyes goggling out at the display. He whirled around in his chair to face his comrades. "Sir!" he called out in a cracking voice. "We've picked up something!"  
  
         The Commander approached, a surly scowl on his face. "Good Kami, man, what is it now?" he snapped, fists on chubby hips.  
  
         "An unidentified object is approaching Penguin Village," the other reported, his gaze once again on the sensor.  
  
         "Unidentified object?" the Commander pondered, more to himself than to his subordinate. "A UFO?"  
  
         "Well, technically…"  
  
         "I knew it!" His fist slammed on the control panel, cutting off the mustached man and spilling coffee all over the circuitry. "Aliens, again! Well, they'll not get the better of us this time!" Ignoring the man's somewhat frazzled state, the Commander whirled in a militarist manner to the remainder of his intrepid troops. "Attention, PVPD!" he hollered out, getting a few tired groans in response. "A dire crisis is on hand. Our beautiful town is once again under attack by interstellar punks. We'll need our entire force ready in order to conquer this foe! Now, fall in!"  
  
         At the mention of aliens, most of the cops eagerly jerked up from their donut break, eager to kick some ass. Only a dark-haired youth was separate from them, already too busy scouting to work on anything else.  
  
         "Talk to me, babe," the boy crooned, admiring himself in a handheld looking glass. "That's th' stuff!" He snickered confidently, then ran his hand through his hair in a second search for dandruff.  
  
         Luckily, a smallish cop had seen him goofing off, and went over to nudge his partner with his elbow. "Taro!" he whispered in a warning tone.  
  
         The young man glanced lazily over at the cop, his eyes still in lady-killer mode. Then, once he realized what was going on, they exploded into saucers with pupils. With a small shriek, he bolted out of his chair, promptly snapped into a smart salute. "Officer Soramame, reporting for duty!" he announced, glad no one could see his nervous eyes through his dark shades. It was unnecessary, though, as no one was paying attention to him.  
  
         The Commander was just finishing up his briefing. "And that's the whole deal!" he said, bringing his pacing to an abrupt stop. "I'll gladly accept any plan of action that you can think off!"  
  
         The cops looked dumbly at their leader, then glanced awkwardly at each other. They had zoned out a bit during the speech, and were at a loss for what to do…and probably brainpower. Only one of them had really paid full attention: a golden-haired metermaid with chiseled features and a violent twinkle in her eye. She found the solution to be self-evident, as real as the gun she cocked in her hands.  
  
         "Shoot the bastard!"  
  
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*****  
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         {SHUU---N!!!} Meanwhile, the Kinto'un had traveled even further from the mainland, the green trail its only lifeline to civilization. More exotic birds fluttered their wings in the sky, bound by whatever ritual the seasons of this hemisphere dictated. In the distance, a few tropical islands could be seen, one of them even sporting a cute little town and some suburbs. Still, everything was mostly blue and boring, with nary a bush or tree to be found. Goku was quite sick of it.  
  
         The martial artist growled in outrage, slamming his fist down on his cloud. "That's it, I quit!" he yelled out to the world. "She can eat the dates by herself!" With a rough sigh, he collapsed down on Kinto'un, sending up a puff of green air from the vehicle. He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Didn't wanna go see that Chichi, anyway," he murmured, a frown on his face. "Probably make me do a buncha boring girly stuff, like Bulma would…"  
  
         To his credit, he was probably right. And to his credit, he now adopted a pensive look, marked by only a fraction of his earlier frustration. "Y'know, I wish I could finda girl that wasn't into all that hair combin,' makeup rubbin' business," Goku said to himself, putting his fist in his cheek. "Someone who knows howda have FUN." Suddenly, his eyes widened out, glancing downwards at his gut. "Foo, all this yellin's made me hungry," he said, rubbing his belly. "Well, no good's gonna come whining, so I should forget it."  
  
         He sighed wistfully and settled down onto the cloud, trying to decide what to do. After a while, Goku drifted off both mentally and physically, leaving Kinto'un free rein to wander over the ocean. Eventually, they strayed to the largest of the islands, the one with the cute little town and suburbs. They were heading right over the residential area, towards tropical palm and neatly paved roads…  
  
         {BLAAAT!!!} "Huh…?"  
  
         And apparently a huge missile with a face.  
  
         "WHOA!" Goku swerved his Kinto'un just in time to avoid the projectile, which spiraled away towards the flat ocean. {B-BOMB!!!} He watched as it detonated against the surface, prompting a gargantuan bubble to blow out into the sky. As the water rippled out from the bombsite, the boy let out a rough gasp, and a: "What was THAT?!", all with the same startled expression. But the answer was no better than the question, as he realized when he turned to the island, towards the island and yet more trouble.  
  
         A throng of patrol cars and motorcyclists stood on a sunny, green prairie, accompanied by around half-a-dozen officers, each armed with a weapon totally unsuitable for a law official. Outlawed machine guns, grenade launchers, even a small tank, these boys were packing every sort of illegal arm, probably taken right from the confiscated weapons warehouse. For some odd reason, they had also bothered to have the entire road blocked off, though Goku was in the sky, and not the ground. Nevertheless, they seemed serious about bringing in their man…as serious as anyone with slaphappy smiles can be, anyway.  
  
         "Halt!" A young man wearing sunglasses yelled out through a megaphone. "This is the PVPD! Disarm and pull your vehicle over NOW!"  
  
         Goku blinked. "The police again?" he said. "I thought these guys were supposed t' be good!" Shrugging in defeat, he began to take off the shoulder strap for the Nyoibo.  
  
         {BAM BAM BAM!} A line of saffron bolted to the sky, and Goku edged aside to avoid the round of pistol fire an eager cop let loose. The boy snarled, staring to the island below. "They didn't even let me answer!" he complained, tugging his weapon grimly back on his back. Soon, the command of "Get him!" screamed out from the blockade, and he was forced to start moving once again.  
  
         {BUDDA BUDDA!!!} Another string of gunfire broke out from the police's weapons, forcing Kinto'un to swoop away in a defensive arc. {BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA!!!} Goku was now dodging bullets from all sides, trying desperately to keep one step ahead of his assailants. The cops were blasting away with childish enthusiasm, pumping the triggers like they belonged to toy guns. They weren't having much luck, but it was the thought that counted, and the young martial artist was kept on his toes by the constant salvo.  
  
         {SHOO--M!!} "Yikes!" A mortar blast flew straight for Goku's head, allowing him scarcely enough time for evasion. The PVPD were getting closer and closer with each shot, despite their target's weaving and swerving. The leader, a balding middle aged man, kept on shouting orders to his men, waving his fingers and spraying spit over the grass. Whatever they were, it must've not been much different than what they were already doing, for they kept firing in the same manner as they had been. (Chances are, they just weren't listening.)  
  
         {HYUUUN!} Goku and the cloud made a break for the island, trying to get closer for a strike at his enemies. {PAM PAM PAM!} Twirling and spiraling in a green/yellow wave, he strafed between each of the bullets, continuing his attack run. With his hand reaching for the pole on his back, Goku smiled a devilish grin. "You can't beat me with those little pootlipoos!" he taunted, even while the bullets whizzed by his ears. "How 'bout I show you some real…"  
  
         {BOOM!} "…power?" An incoming vector blew straight into Goku's back, knocking him off of Kinto'un. Turning his head, the boy discovered he had forgotten about out one of the cops, unfortunately the one with the guided missile bazooka. He flew, out of control, into one of the palm trees, knocking a few coconuts down to the ground. Then, he lay motionless, seemingly unconscious from the rocket's sheer impact.  
  
         Each of the policemen turned to Goku's landing spot, miraculously stopping their firing. One by one, they came to examine the fallen fighter, though they hadn't holstered their weapons yet. The leader looked up at the palm, watching their target's stagnant form like it might return to life. He squinted his eyelids, and scratched at the sideburns connected to his large moustache. "Did we get him?"  
  
         Goku's eyes shot open. "No, but I've got you!"  
  
         And then, he leapt to the heavens, pulling his Nyoibo up to bear and popping open a can of whoopass. "HAI…!"  
  
         "Huh?!" The leader followed the boy's upward path, and his beady eyes grew to about ten times their size. "Oh, C-RRAP!"  
  
         {TKATKATKA!} Using his staff as a helicopter blade, Goku twirled up high over the PVPD, like a vulture overlooking his prey. Though the cops were fairly quick to respond, Goku already had the upper hand. {DONK!} Falling from the sky, he landed a stunning kick on top of one of them, using the helmet to spring him upwards. But even before that, he had already {BEANED!!!} a cop with Nyoibo, using its uppercut stroke to further his ascension to the heavens.  
  
         The buxom blonde watched all this with something between horror and rage. Then "Hyyaaa!" she switched over to the latter, filling the air with machine-gun blasting. Amazingly, Goku deflected every one of the shells, using Nyoibo as a windmill to {PIPIPIPIPING!} them away. This left the cops to run for cover, finding their own weaponry used against them, and this gave Goku enough time to launch into his first signature move. "Nyoibo…EXTEND!!!"  
  
         {GYUUUN!!!} Spinning into a backflip, Goku aimed the glowing stick towards the small tank aiming for him. {CRUNK!} Its hatch was busted shut by the stifling blow, sending small chips of metal showering out over the field. The cops watched in dismay, as their favorite tool of mass destruction was reduced to a worthless hunk of steel. But they had only experienced half of the horror, as their ears picked up a small beeping noise emitting from the vehicle. {deet…deet…DEET-DEET-DEET!}  
  
         {D-KOOOM!!!} The tank detonated in a blazing fireball, causing a shock to spiral out from the melted core. All of the policemen hollered out as the wind wave carried them to the nearest blunt object. {CRAK!}{DMP!}{THUD!} Helpless to the young lad's flawless technique, each of them was knocked into Dreamland, a halo of stars floating above their skull. And Goku remained triumphant in the air, having saved himself, defeated his enemy, all without touching the ground.  
  
         All without the use of his… "Kinto'un?"  
  
         Then, Goku took a look at his surroundings, of which there were none. He was still hanging in the empty skies, suspended by nothing. And Kinto'un was WAY over there…  
  
         "BaaAAAHHHH!!!" The boy was now following a one-way train to the Earth, courtesy of gravity and forgetfulness. {SHOOOM!} Wind rushed by his hair, flailing his spiky locks as made a futile attempt at flying. With the field nearing his hard head, Goku made one last call to his cloud, even though it was far too late for that. "KINTO'UN!!!"  
  
         Maybe he should've been thinking about how to land…  
  
         {DOMM!!!}  
  
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*****  
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         "Peep peep!"  
  
         "What's that, Ga-chans? D'ya see somethin'?"  
  
         "Peep."  
  
         "…Hoyo-YO! It's him, it's HIM!"  
  
         "Ka-peep?"  
  
         "Yeah, the cloud boy! C'mon, let's get 'im inside!"  
  
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*****  
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         It was dark, a bit too dark enough to see by, and yet just enough light was kept to create a sense of dread into the strange dwelling. The small chamber seemed a vampire's keep, with odd books and such piled sporadically about on the ratty carpet. Ominous shadows snack into every corner, over bookcases and desks, turning them all into monsters and demons. A cold breeze blew through the open window, making its curtain billow out as a specter of flannel, looking over the other evil spirits in the room.  
  
         Goku slowly raised his head off of the feather pillow, then growled as a stab of pain jolted through his noggin. Growling, he slowed down to rub the lump, though his eyes still tried to get a feel for his surroundings. He was in somebody's bedroom, a child's, judging by the collection of toys and games cluttering the floor. But with the cloak of darkness obscuring his vision, it was too hard to tell whether they had ever been used in recent times.  
  
         Then…light. Goku suddenly snapped his head away from the playthings, turning towards the sliver of sight that appeared through the haze. The doorway to his left was opening up, revealing an impish figure about his height coming into the room. The figure regarded the boy for a moment, making a few odd noises that sounded vaugely like words. Upon finding he was awake, it swung the doorway open and made a dash for the bed, a luminescent wave flying from the hallway and enveloping the creature in its pearly flash.  
  
         Goku gasped, shielding his eyes from the horror as well as the light. But a very human sounding gasp from this creature made him reconsider, and he braved to look it right in the face, the light from the entrance giving him his first good look.  
  
         In front of him was a pair of violet eyes, framed by huge glasses and equally violet hair. These all belonged to the form of a thirteen-year-old girl, wearing a large baseball cap with angel wings adorning the sides. Her face bore a cherubic radiance, coming from a life of endless laughter and smiles. Yet now, it was wrought in confusion, not knowing what to make of this character's reactions.  
  
         Goku stood staring at her for a moment, as confused he had ever been. Then his eyes lit up, recognizing the person before him. "Hey…ARALE!"  
  
         The girl smiled. "N'cha!"  
  
         Ding, ding-ding, ding-ding-ding-ding, di-ding-ding-ding…!


	2. Talent for Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arale shows Goku around Penguin Village. Elsewhere, Chi-Chi searches for Goku round-the-world, and meets up with some strange characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Dr. Slump is the property of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies, as well as all characters within. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.
> 
> Legend:  
> ( ) Denotes thoughts.  
> { } Denotes sound effects.
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> Arale-isms:
> 
> N'cha: Shortened form of Konnichiwa, which is Japanese for 'hello.' When hollered at full blast, it becomes a Dragon Ball-esque beam attack. (a.k.a: the N'cha Cannon)
> 
> Bye-cha: Like "N'cha", only for farewells. Also able to be used as a beam blast.
> 
> Hoyo: Expression of confusion, astonishment, and various other emotions.
> 
> Thanks-cha: My own custom Arale-ism. Basically, it’s “thanks” with a “cha” stuck on the end.
> 
> Go-kun: Another all new Arale-ism. A cutesy way of referring to Goku, similar to "Goku-kun."

**From Penguin Village with Love**  
  
 **By Reid M. Haynes**  
  


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 **Tale 2: Talent for Love**  
  
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         Atop the seaside birch tree, in the rising sun, a small swine was self-levitating to its highest branch. Mr. Pig was preparing for his daily rite, clearing out the frog in his throat. Reaching over to a standing mike, he dusted off the head and crowed his traditional announcement: "It's morning in Penguin Village!" It filled the entire island like a plague; yet, nothing was as comforting as this warbling squawk.  
  
         Truly, it was a fine day in this tropical paradise, sparkling and sweet. The palm trees were covered in soft dewdrops, and autumn berry bushes perked up through the slow, rolling hills. At the Norimaki residence, butterflies danced among the tall grass and danced carelessly with their life mates. And the smell of burbling batter was wafting from the open window, mixing in with the organic fragrances of all the other things in this paragraph.  
  
         The beautiful young woman smiled sweetly. "Done!" Licking her dainty hands free from the pancake batter, Midori regarded her confection with the satisfaction of a master artist. She took the pan to the kitchen table, where her husband was waiting anxiously. Then, with a smile only for him, she carefully placed a healthy portion onto his plate, happy with her domestic duties.  
  
         "Honey, have you heard the news?" the woman asked conversationally, adding another pancake to his helping.  
  
         "Huh?" the man pondered somewhat absently, poking at his breakfast with a fork.  
  
         "Arale brought in a visitor yesterday," Midori continued, moving back over to the stove. "That nice boy with the tail's come back!"  
  
         "Say WHAT?!" he burst out in surprise, nearly causing his wife lose her grip on the saucepan. "The same kid that came with that Red Ribbon Army?!"  
  
         "Well, he dosen't seem to have those men following him now," she said nonchalantly, putting down pancakes on the bar. "I'm sure it'll be alright!"  
  
         Norimaki Senbei (or Dr. Slump, as he was sometimes known) sighed exasperatedly, laying his flabby arms in front of his plate. He had spent all yesterday working in his laboratory, so the night's events had blown over his head. He should've known he couldn't trust his android daughter not to bring in every weirdo that fell from the sky. Now there was a guest, and a rather odd one at that.  
  
         "I just hope he dosen't break anything," he murmured, feeling doubtful already at this situation."  
  
         "Well surely you don't think that 'he' will cause any trouble," Midori smiled sunnily, bringing some bacon to the table.  
  
         "Anyone Arale gravitates to IS trouble," Senbei grumbled, putting his hand to his cheek. His eyes lit up. "Where is she, anyway? At this time, she should already be on her way to..."  
  
         "HI, HAKASE!" and the doctor's face was flattened into his pancakes, courtesy of the cheerful robot that he invented.  
  
         Senbei groaned into the mush, feeling utterly helpless. Then, he swung to Arale with a comical expression on his face. "Dammit, how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?!" he hollered, spit fleckles impacting on the girl's face.  
  
         "Hoyo?" Senbei's "daughter" was oblivious to his frustration, not sure why he was so upset. Then, she eyed his face curiously. "Hey, why d'ya have glop all over your face?" she asked, blinking incomprehensibly.  
  
         The doctor lurched closer to Arale, somehow managing to stretch his facial features even more than they already were. Then, he clawed at his head vehemently, making the horrid growling noises of a prisoner in total agony.  
  
         As Senbei continued his tantrum, Midori turned to the girl with a smile. "By the way, Arale-chan, have you put little Goku's uniform on the cushion," she asked.  
  
         "Sure," Arale responded simply, a question still on her face. "But what do you need his clothes for?"  
  
         "Oh, I just wanted to do some sewing while the baby's asleep," the woman shrugged her shoulders cheerily. "After his fall, it will certainly need a little patchwork." Suddenly, a sound from upstairs attracted Midori's attention, and she turned and smiled. "That must be him now!"  
  
         Arale grinned, and jumped off of her perch on Senbei. Running around the kitchen's edge, she made her way to the bottom of the stairs. The little android looked up the ascending steps, perking her ears at strange noises just beyond her sight. Then, her smile widened, and her eyes went loopy and happy. "Go-kun!"  
  
         Atop the staircase, with a fanfare of "Peep peep!"ing, was Goku, as well as two other creatures. To either side of him were cupid-like creatures, whom we'll call Ga-chans 1 and 2. "Peep peep!" They were identical to each other, bearing curly, green hair and little nodes coming from their skulls. And both of them were cheerfully leading their ward down, yanking at his clothes and continuing to cry their little calls: "Peep peep!"  
  
         The real sight here, though, was the boy himself. Goku was dressed in the exact same outfit that Arale typically wore. Grey overalls, red golf shirt, it was all there, right down to the wing cap on his head. Funny thing was, instead of reading "ARALE," the logo on front now spelled "GOKUH." But even with this misconception, you had to admit: it completed the ensemble quite nicely.  
  
         With a small giggle Goku hopped down the last three steps, prompting the Ga-chans to hover back to their mistress. "Heh heh!" he chuckled, fingering the bill of his hat. "Weird outfit!"  
  
         Arale nodded, watching her little friends come to her side. "Ain't it cool?!" she cooed, glancing to each cherub with a smile.  
  
         "Now remember, Goku," Midori started, putting her hands on her hips. "Be sure to take it easy while you're out. Your head still has a nasty bruise!"  
  
         "Huh?" The boy blinked and tilted his head. "While I'm out?"  
  
         She was unshaken by this question. "Arale has offered to give you a tour of Penguin Village!" Midori explained, smiling radiantly. "You must've been half asleep when we told you."  
  
         "And it's not 'huh,'" Arale corrected, a Ga-chan clinging to her head. "It's 'hoyo.'"  
  
         Goku blinked again, staring blankly at his friend. "Hoyo?"  
  
         Arale smiled. "That's it!" Ignoring the martial artist's still-confused expression, she took hold of his arm. "C'mon, Go-kun, we gotta go!"  
  
         Breaking into a run, she dragged Goku towards the door, which was thankfully already opened for them. "Bye-cha, Sensei Midori!" she called out, taking off to the hills.  
  
         "Hoyo!" Goku called out, as he was helplessly wrangled on Arale's grand tour.  
  
-  
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*****  
-  
-  
  
         Somewhere else, one girl wasn't having such an interesting time. Unless you call being soaked in slush and mud interesting, which the girl in question on certainly wouldn't. All around, a wasteland of marsh and ferns daunted her for many a mile, stretching almost beyond the horizon. And by the way she carried herself, it was clear she had experienced every inch of this maelstrom, for at least a day since arriving here.  
  
         "Danggit!" she blurted out, her accent straight from Nowheresville. "Ain't this marsh ova' yet?" The raven-maned lass scrapped at mud caked on her shoulders, trying to keep it from ruining her hair. "Been walkin' around this place for a fortnight since mornin', and I've found no hide or hair of th' boy!" On that, she clenched her slush-soaked gloves. "Ooh, that Son Goku! I'll gitt'im good!"  
  
         Ox Princess Chichi was a girl on a mission, and was fully prepared to make good on those vows. Dressed in a strange bikini and cape, she looked very much like one of the Valkarie, the fierce women warriors of Norse legend. A finishing touch was the weird helmet on her head, sporting a blade-like crest on top of the cranium. But really, all she needed was a fiery look in her eyes, and not even a Valkarie would contest with her. Much less Son Goku.  
  
         Continuing onward, Chichi picked up her feet from the sludge that threatened to engulf them. With her teeth gritted in determination, she made her way towards the southern edge of the marsh, where she just see the tropical shoreline peaking from the sky. It was there that she left her boat the other day, alongside a rocky seaside cliff. She would need it to get out of this slimy pit, and continue her search for that spiky-haired playboy.  
  
         {glimp!} Chichi suddenly felt her boot catch on something. "W-wha..." she murmured, snapping around to find her foot sunken in a puddle of glop. Worse still, the action had caused her to lose balance. And with a loud "Ee-yaAAH!!!", she vaulted face-first into the sludge, sending a small splatter of mud into the air.  
  
         With a pitiful groan, the girl slowly raised her speckled face from the swamp. Then, that groan melted into a full-blown cry, as she fell to her knees in despair. "Nnnoo!!" she whined, raising her head to the sky. "This is terrrrible!" With her hands, she gnawed at her eyes, sobbing away.  
  
         "I say, do you need some help?"  
  
         Then all of a sudden she stopped, and looked blankly towards where she heard the mysterious voice. Her eyes widened. "Who are you?"  
  
         About three feet from Chichi, standing patiently astute, was a young spectacled boy about her age: thirteen. He was a bit shorter than she, chubby, and looked basically like the school nerd you knew back in Junior High. The weird thing about him was his black hair, short cut with two little cowlicks sticking out like devil horns. That, and the fact that he had somehow reached Chichi, when no one had been around for many, many miles.  
  
         The boy and girl stared at each other, not knowing quite what to say in this weird situation. Then, he made as if to clear his throat. "Ahem," he coughed into his hand. "Forgive me, but I noticed you were in quite a dire state, and I was wondering if you would require some assistance."  
  
         "Hmm?" Chichi was taken aback by this strange little lad, and took a little while to get to his question. "What do you mean?"  
  
         The boy seemed unfazed by her awkwardness. "Well, you seemed to be very distressed indeed," He then pointed towards the skimpy outfit she wore. "And I noticed you are in a bit of a situation concerning your apparel."  
  
         "Huh?" she gasped, trying to grasped the full meaning of his sentence. Then, she turned a fierce gaze towards the boy. "Hey, are you bein' dirty?!" Chichi snapped, covering her body with her arms.  
  
         "No, no!" he amended, shrinking from the girl's tart words. "I wouldn't dream of it! It was only the sludge and grime caked onto your clothing, nothing more!"  
  
         Chichi narrowed her eyes at the boy, trying to pick up on any falsities. Finding his manner startled but truthful, she softened up a bit, though still suspicious. "What was yer name again?" she asked once more, giving him a wary look.  
  
         "Ah, I never said, did I?" The boy resumed his earlier candor, smiling in a friendly manner. "I am called Obotchaman, and I was just on my way back from an out-of-town errand." Extending his hand to her, he offered a slight grin. "May I ask your name?"  
  
         The girl was startled by the hand, and by the boy's extreme politeness. Then, slowly, she gave a smile of her own. "Chichi," she replied, taking hold of his hand.  
  
         With a {WHOMF!}, Chichi was quickly brought back to her feet by surprising strength. She let out a small gasp, wondering how he could've done that, but the boy ignored it. "I was wonder why you were wandering in such a desolate place?" he asked, putting his arms back to his side.  
  
         "Um, well, I was actually lookin' for someone," she answered, looking a bit coy at the question.  
  
         "Searching for someone?" The boy blinked.  
  
         "Yeah," she nodded. "I had a date with my lil' sweetie this morning, but he never showed up. I searched all over lookin' for him, but I couldn't find him nowheres!"  
  
         Seeing the girl about to turn to tears again, he regarded her statement with an understanding nod. "I see," the boy said, putting his hands on his hips. Then, he straightened up. "Well, my errand is finished, so I'll be happy to help you find your significant other, if you so desire."  
  
         "Help me?…" Chichi questioned, tilting her head to the side.  
  
         "You'll want some new clothes too, I suppose," he said, ignoring her question. "Please follow me to my village, and I'll find an appropriate article for you to wear."  
  
         And {VOOM!!!} he dashed off at lightning speed to whence he came, leaving a streak of swamp water expanding from the vortex. With his legs forming into a blur, he moved towards the glimmering southern coast, and quickly disappeared among the reefs and sands.  
  
         Chichi was left standing in the marsh, staring in awe at the strange little lad. Her features changed into something between acceptance and confusion. "Well, he seems like a nice boy," she determined, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "But to be as fast as Goku is…"  
  
         After a moment more, she followed him to the shoreline.  
  
-  
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*****  
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         "And this is the Coffee Pot!" Arale said, gesturing at a large building to the right. "I like spending much time here!"  
  
         "Wow!" Goku gaped, looking upwards to where his friend pointed. Before him stood an oddly shaped coffeehouse that looked for all the world like…well, a huge coffeepot. In fact, it looked so much like a coffeepot, that I see no reason to continue this paragraph.  
  
         Goku's eyes widened as a thought came to him. "You don't drink that bitter tastin' soup, do you?" he asked, peering at Arale cautiously.  
  
         "Hoyo?" she peeped, then shook her head. "No, no, no, I come here because it's where Akane hangs out."  
  
         "Akane?" The boy scratched his head, trying to recall the name. Just then, Arale grabbed his arm. "Oh look, there she is!" she cheered, pointing out towards the main road. Goku squinted into the distance, and just made out a cloud of automobile smoke.  
  
         On the road leaning to the Coffee Pot, a souped-up scooter tore its way towards Goku and Arale. This vehicle belonged to a teenage girl, about sixteen years of age, with curly orange hair and dark blue eyes. She looked quite a bit like Bulma Briefs, both in her type of figure and the somewhat-risqué way she displayed it. Unlike Bulma, however, the way she carried herself was much tougher, giving off an impression of a harder lifestyle than Goku's pampered friend.  
  
         {REEEEK!!!} Scraping the tires on the gravel, Arale's friend halted her scooter in front of the Coffee Pot, where the duo stood. Brushing some hair out over her eyes, she glanced at the spectacled one, giving her a rather cool smile. "Hey, kiddo."  
  
         "N'cha!" Arale greeted, raising her hand up happily.  
  
         Akane leaned calmly on her motorbike, then turned to regard Goku. "What's this?" she wondered, cocking her eyebrow at him suspiciously. Then, her eyes popped open with recognition. "Hey, I haven't seen you in awhile! Goku, right?" she exclaimed, leaning forward.  
  
         "Yup!" Goku put his hand behind his head, chuckling in embarrassment. "That's me!"  
  
         "Ah, you tell truth after all, Akane!" a clipped Chinese accent spoke from behind the older girl. "Crazy cloud boy does exist!"  
  
         "Wha…!" Goku said, peering around Akane's back. "Hey, who are you?" he asked, finding a strange person sitting there.  
  
         Arale gaped, holding back a 'hoyo.' "It's Tsuku-tsun!"  
  
         Riding behind the tomboy was a seventeen-year-old young man, with close-cropped hair and an open smile. Dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, he looked much like someone out of a martial arts film. Funny thing was, his small eyes and strong cheekbones looked very familiar to Son Goku. In fact, if you took away his naïve countenance, he would almost look like…  
  
         "Yamcha!" Goku suddenly leapt onto the youth, bracing him in a huge hug.  
  
         "W-whaAA...?" The startled boy gasped, thrown off balance by the extra weight. "OOF!"  
  
         "What on earth…?" Akane started, as her boyfriend was knocked off the bike, thanks to the monkey-tailed boy. "What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
         "Golly, Yamcha, what're you doing here?" Goku asked happily, oblivious to the queries of those around him. "I thought you were stayin' with Bulma back at that 'West City!' place!"  
  
         "I not Yamcha!" the "yamcha-like" one wheezed, trying to pry the kid off of him. He looked desperately to Akane for help, pleading to her with his dark eyes.  
  
         Luckily, the girl got the message. "Cut it out, kid!" she complained, stepping up to them in a huff. "That's my boyfriend, Tsuku-tsun!"  
  
         "Huh?" Goku blinked, confused. He looked over to Tsuku, who affirmed him with a nervous smile. "You changed your name to Tsuku-somethin', Yamcha?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.  
  
         Akane and Tsuku facefaulted.  
  
         "Go-kun, we needa go," Arale reminded him, pointing her finger at the road. "You c'n talk to your friend later, 'kay?"  
  
         "Yeah, where're you two headed, anyway?" the fiery-haired girl inquired, ignoring the other's strange remark. "What're twerps like you gonna do?"  
  
         "We're goin' to the lighthouse where all the blue jays live!" Arale cheered, going back into happy mode. "There's lots of poo piles there!"  
  
         "Yeah!" Goku said, walking back over to the girl. "Arale-chan's been tellin' me about this poo-pokin' thing, so I'm kinda curious!"  
  
         Akane narrowed her eyes. "And this is your idea of fun," she crooned, a sweatdrop oozing from her temple.  
  
         The duo didn't blink. "Uh-huh!"  
  
         Akane glanced at Goku, smiling excitedly up at her. Then she snapped back to Arale, who had the exact same grin on her face. She lurched away from them, making a disgusted grimace. (This is creepy…) she thought to herself, her eyes slipping warily between the two apparent doppelgangers. (To think there's another "Arale" in this weird, weird world…)  
  
         "W-well, far be it for me to spoil your fun," she finished up, trying to deadpan on Goku and Arale. "See ya later."  
  
         Walking back to the still-reeling Tsuku, Akane lazily waved her hand in dismissal. Arale took the cue, and grabbed Goku's hand. "Okey-dokey," she called out, making a dash for the lighthouse. "Bye-cha, Akane-chan!"  
  
         "Yeah, yeah," she growled, propping her scooter onto the stand.  
  
         "Bye-cha, Yamcha!" Arale called to Tsuku, smiling innocently.  
  
         "Bye-bye, Arale," the youth responded, waving at the retreating girl. Then, his eyes goggled at her full-statement. "I not Yamcha!!!" he hollered, shaking his fist in frustration.  
  
         Akane glanced at Tsuku, wondering what was up with him. Soon, though, she started snickering quietly under her breath as the martial-artist sunk his head into his hands.  
  
-  
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*****  
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         Back above the South Seas, a strange contraption was making its way towards the small island chain on the equator. It was a flying machine, or something akin to it, at any rate. The thing was bright yellow, had a face, and carried an attitude that seemed very stressed out. Understandable really, for instead of using propellers or wings, it had arms and giant fans, and was flapping them wildly in order to stay aloft.  
  
         This was Super-Mecha "Pinpon-Go," the crowning achievement of a wacky inventor. Able to comfortably seat a family of four, as well as its current occupants.  
  
         "Gosh oh gee!" Chichi exclaimed, pressing her face against the glass, viewing port. "This thing can really go!"  
  
         Obotchaman beamed back at her, though he kept one eye on the controls. "Indeed, it is quite an achievement," he responded gently.  
  
         "Where didja find sucha odd thang?" she asked, turning to the boy in curiosity. However, her inquisitive expression soon turned to confusion, as she found a blush forming on his face.  
  
         "Actually, I got temporary use of it from my friend's father," Obotchaman said, a twinkle forming in his pupils. "Norimaki Arale, the most lovely maiden in the land!" He sighed, slumping over in a lovesick daze.  
  
         Chichi narrowed her eyes at him, irritated. "Hey, I'ma little cutie, too!" she growled, a grudging look on her pretty face. "My Dad said so!"  
  
         "Now, Miss Chichi, don't be hasty," he stuttered, making a wan attempt at apology. "I didn't mean anything like that."  
  
         "So what did you mean!?" she persisted, moving her frown closer to the boy's face.  
  
         "Well, er…" Obotchaman shrunk back away from Chichi, his nervous smile wobbling under her penetrating stare. This did little to alleviate her concerns, of course.  
  
         As a small scuffle took place within the cockpit, Pinpon-Go continued to wobble on to the island. Unfortunately, it had little initiative over its direction, with the manual-control switched on. Looking upwards, it rolled its eyes towards Obotchaman and Chichi. "I wonder when they're going to realize no one's flying me?" it groaned, a sweatdrop somehow forming on its steely exterior.  
  
         "Huh?" Chichi said, halting her assault on Obotchaman's twin cowlicks. "Did someone just talk?"  
  
         The kid's dazed expression changed to recognition. Scrambling out from under the girl's body, Obotchaman darted to the controls, trying to find out what was wrong. Once he saw the situation completely, a weird smile formed on his lips. "It seems no one is controlling the aircraft…" he answered, chuckling in a somewhat crazed manner.  
  
         "That's right," Pinpon-Go moaned, looking down at the islands below; it's future crash site.  
  
         Chichi stared blankly through the porthole. "Gosh oh gee!"  
  
         {WHEEOOO…!} The flight path of Pinpon-Go soon became a crash course towards the small island below. Swirling and spinning, the craft headed for one of the taller palm trees on the beach. "Doooah!" The children hollered, clutching onto each other in rabid fear. And {D-KOOOM!!!} it made contact, sending a wave of coconuts rolling recklessly over the sandy shore.  
  
         Pinpon-Go twitched on top of the palm tree, its legs misaligned and its cockpit shattered. "Nobody loves me," it groaned, just before it conked out.  
  
         Obotchaman and Chichi were winded on the beach, sprawled away from each other. Chichi's head was concealed within a mound of sand, while Obotchaman carried a coconut on his. Both of them were barely conscious, their eyes transformed into little swirlie swirls. Neither of them was aware they were being watched.  
  
         Though the stars in his gaze, Obotchaman was aware of a dark shadow looming over him. Raising his head from under the coconut, he looked, and found a stranger standing there. "He" was short and stocky, wearing a white labcoat, ugly khaki trousers, and clumsy brown loafers. Covering his face, however, was a mask, a rather fake looking one shaped like a yellow smiley face. A real shady guy, one not to be trusted easily.  
  
         "Hello, little boy," the mystery man chuckled, sneering behind his mask.  
  
         "Huh?" Obotchaman gasped, inching away from the stranger. He propped himself up on his elbows and stared up at the man. "Who are you, sir?"  
  
         {PLOOP!} With a shove, Chichi lifted her head out of the sand pile, coming down hard on her rump. She looked at the two and walked over. "Obotchaman, who's that man?" she asked.  
  
         "Forgive me," the mystery man responded, stepping back from the boy. With a small bow, he regarded the children with a smile, something that was apparent even under his mask. "But this island is my little vacation spot, so you're really the one intruding here. I was just catching some Zs, when I heard a loud crash in the general vicinity. I wonder…what happened to you two?"  
  
         Obotchaman stared blankly for a moment, but soon he caught on to what he meant. "Oh, um, yes," he stammered, referring to the fallen Pinpon-Go. "Our vehicle was devastated when it overcame some…er turbulence." The boy looked back and grimaced nervously at Chichi, who was wavering on the edge of fury again.  
  
         "I see." The mystery man put a hand to his chin, smiling slightly. "How dreadful," he eased, a questionable sincerity in his voice. He then stood up. "Well, you're lucky you happened to crash land on this island," he continued, walking between the both of them. "I believe I can help you with your problem."  
  
         "Say again?" Obotchaman gasped, his eyes widening at the stranger. "You can really do that, sir?"  
  
         "Of course," he replied, "I do know quite a bit about machines, after all."  
  
         Chichi made a strange face, looking oddly at both Obotchaman and the mystery man. "It seems there are a lot of weird guys out to help me," she determined tentatively, scratching at her temples with a fingernail. "Hmm…"  
  
         After Obotchaman had thanked him, the mystery man clapped the two kids on the back and started off. "Time to get to work," he commented, proceeding towards the broken down ship. "We wouldn't want you to arrive late, now would we?"  
  
         "It's all right, mister," Chichi smiled gratefully. "You can take yer time, since you're helpin' us."  
  
         And then the man snickered evilly his back rumbling with mirth. "Keep thinking that, my little sweet," he mumbled to himself, an odd twinkle forming though the eye of his mask. "But when you see what your friends are up to..."  
  
         Obotchaman looked strangely at the other. "What again?" he wondered, a bit addled by what he heard.  
  
         But the mysterious man had already left Chichi and Obotchaman to begin work on Pinpon-Go. They didn't notice the small devices he had placed on their backs, either…

-  
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*****  
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         Under the tired sun, Penguin Village was about ready to turn in for the night. It had already been a long day, and afternoon was quickly dissolving into evening, leaving only a red sheen on the sidewalk. Most of the citizens were tucked away in their beds, leaving the streets lonely for some accompaniment. Fortunately for them, there were two kids with enough energy to still get around. Plenty of it, in fact.  
  
         "Y'know, that Suppaman guy was kinda a disappointment," Goku commented, drawing Arale's gaze unto him. "I thought you said he was strong."  
  
         The girl kept walking forward, though she seemed also to have some discontent. "Well, he says he's a superhero, so he must be!" she answered, staring back to the sidewalk. "Though he couldn't never beat me in rock-paper-scissors…"  
  
         "Rock-paper-scissors, huh?" Goku smiled at her, squinting to keep the sun out of his eyes. "That's one of my favorite games!"  
  
         Arale turned to the boy excitedly. "Then we c'n play it!" she hurrahed, returning his grin enthusiastically.  
  
         Goku chuckled good-naturedly, and resumed walking down the street of Penguin Village. He sighed happily, and smiled off into the western sunset. It had already been such a great day for him. He had gone to the Coffee Pot, visited Sonritsu Junior High, and hadn't had so much fun since his last Dragon Ball hunt. This town was kind of weird, but it was starting to really grow on him. Even though he spent only one day here, he was already starting to wonder why he hadn't visited sooner.  
  
         With his eyes wandering, Goku's attention came to rest on the girl, who was continuing onward slightly ahead of him. Finding him in the corner of his vision, she turned to him and gave him an earnest smile, giggling with glee. Startled by this joyfulness, it took him awhile to decide how to react. Finally settling on a happy sort of feeling, he regarded his friend with the same type of grin, then got himself lost in thought again.  
  
         Who would've thought he could have so much fun with a girl? Arale never complained about the way she looked, or spent hours combing her hair over and over again. She liked everything he liked: adventures, fighting, everything! More than that, she was good company, and they seemed to share the same feelings wherever they went together.  
  
         Goku grinned to himself, chuckling inadvertently. It was just what he hoping for! A really fun girl…  
  
         "Hey, Go-kun!" Goku jerked out of his reverie and turned to his right. Arale was still smiling at him. "Let's go to the lighthouse now!" she said cheerfully.  
  
         The boy adopted an inquisitive expression, probably somewhere between concern and confusion. "Doncha think it's kinda late?" he asked her. "Those guys at your house are probably worried about'cha."  
  
         This seemed unsettling to Arale, who slowly lowered her head. "Oh, okay then," she said, sounding a bit disappointed. Slowing down her stroll, she moved closer to Goku, coming up slightly behind his back.  
  
         Then {PUSH!} Goku found himself flying face-forward towards the pavement. "W-wha…?" he managed to burble out, just before he collided against the hard turf. Wearily, the boy tended to his scuffed hands, wiping them free of the dirt and grime. Then he rose up to his knees, glaring straight at the perpetrator of this act.  
  
         "Kya-ha-hah!" Arale laughed, skipping away with childish mirth. "Come get me, Go-kun!" And {ZOOOM!!!} she zipped off to the lighthouse.  
  
         Goku quickly rose to his feet, his fists clenched. "That wasn't very nice!" the boy growled, chasing after her. He was smiling.  
  
         Thus, the great chase ensued.  
  
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*****  
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-  
  
         "But I just ain't sure why that freaky guy knew so much about this thang!" Chichi protested, turning to her new friend a skeptic look. "What was he doin' there, anyway?!"  
  
         Obotchaman didn't look up from his controls. "Well, his untimely arrival was certainly beneficial to us," he responded, not frazzled in the slightest. "'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth,' that's what I always say."  
  
         Chichi curled up into a little ball, pouting stubbornly. "Some horsies have nasty teeth," she mumbled, closing her eyes in defeat.  
  
         But despite Chichi's concerns, Obotchaman was correct in his analysis. Pinpon-Go was running fine now, and was making good time the rest of the way. They were about one kilometer from Penguin Village, and could already see the island's southern shore in the distance. From there, they would get Chichi new clothes and continue…with a little visit to Arale, of course. "Miss Chichi, my hometown is within view," he reminded the girl, who looked up from her sullen sulk. "We'll land near the lighthouse, so be ready."  
  
-  
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*****  
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         Through the streets of Penguin Village, Goku trampled after his friend, his legs and arms swinging like mad. He skipped over trashcans and cut all possible corners in his efforts to catch up. Goku was moving faster and faster, yet Arale remained out of reach still. She was just as fast as Goku, and nothing less than his top speed would enable him to catch her.  
  
         The duo had already moved out of the main city, leaving twin smoke trails where their feet had once been. With happy grins on their face, they continued their game of cat-and mouse all the way to the outskirts of the town. They were closing in on the nearby western wharf, yet still their pace didn't falter. Even as the shoreline licked the heels of their feet, both were determined to win, and they kept their eyes on nothing but the lighthouse and each other.  
  
         "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin...!" Arale squalked, her arms outstretched and catching the rushing winds. With her shoes splashing in the salty water, she made for the small island where the lighthouse stood. Turning around to check on Goku, she found him a few meters behind, much to her glee. "Nyah nyah!" she mocked the lagging boy, holding on to her slight lead. "Can't catch me-eee!!!"  
  
         Goku bristled a bit at this light insult, but then settled on a contesting smirk. "Oh yeah?" he shot back, leaning froward with his momentum. He spread his arms out wide, opening his fists in an effort to increase aerodynamics. And "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin...!" he was running airplane-style just like Arale, gaining with it confidence, and his second wind.  
  
         By now, they were already well past the seashore, within a fifteen minute swim of the lighthouse isle…or just a minute's dash, if you could run. And run they did, skimming right over the surface of the water. Leaving behind jet streams, they quickly crossed the submerged sandbar, leaping over the waves like they were rolling hills. Soon, the sea breakers had halved the distance between them and their goal, as they entered the middle of the sea.  
  
         "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin...!" Arale hollered, leaving behind the sound of her own voice with tremendous speed.  
  
         "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin...!" Goku emulated, enthusiastically chasing after his friend.  
  
         {DWOOSH!!!} And the two continued onward towards the finish line.  
  
         About thirty meters away from the island's small beach, Arale took another look at her opponent, who was closing in on her fast. She beamed. "You're fast, you're fast!" she squealed, waving her arms extravagantly.  
  
         "Right-oh!" Goku's face changed into a death-grin, his hands forming into deadly claws. "And you'll see just how fast I really am!" The boy stepped up his pace again, making a beeline for Arale's retreated form. Soon, he was only three meters away from the girl. Then two. Then one…  
  
         Arale's eyes widened at the boy, looking surprised for the first time since their chase begun. "Hoyo-yo…!"  
  
         Goku gritted his teeth in determination, poising his body for the kill.  
  
         {SWOMP!} With a flying tackle, Goku knocked Arale out of her dash, nearly knocking the wind out of the little android. "GOTCHA!" he cried, embracing her in a violent bear hug that left her at a loss for what to do. With the force of his tackle, both of them were knocked to the island turf, leaving a groove in the sand where the boy had made his move. Soon, they were wrestling next to the lighthouse, both of them laughing as they tried to better the other.  
  
         "Heh heh!" Arale chuckled, pushing back the monkey-boy's head with her hand. Clenching her fist, she threw a quick jab to Goku's face, hoping to knock him out of his assault. He just snickered, catching her punch with his free hand and dragging her arm away from him. With all his strength, he pressed the girl against the lighthouse wall, preparing another attack.  
  
         But upon finding the look behind those huge, round spectacles, he halted his attack. And both of them stared into each other's eyes, right into their souls.  
  
         The two of them were sprawled on the rough beach, their bodies practically on top of each other. Face to face, their desire to win faded away into the wispy ocean breeze surrounding the lighthouse. Both of them were still balanced for combat; yet their muscles abandoned the thrill of battle in favor of another emotion. They just kept looking into each other's eyes, not having a single word to explain this.  
  
         Goku could remember feeling something like this before, when he was with his Grandpa back in the mountains. Yet, he felt neither of them had experienced something quite like this, so he kept silent.  
  
         "Go-kun?" The boy jerked away this moment to look back at Arale, who was regarding him with a weird sort of face.  
  
         "Yeah?" he responded, relaxing his body from its sudden stall.  
  
         "…You're cool," she finished, the smile practically glowing from her face.  
  
         And Goku smiled back, a closer understanding entering his heart.  
  
         Suddenly, out of the blue, the lighthouse's search beam swooped around to shine on the quiescent Goku and Arale. Their rounded faces shone like suns in the vibrant white light, freezing the moment like a snapshot, as well as their emotions. The waters around the isle sparkled like a prism, rippling with a rainbow luminescence all the way to the seabed. And the misty sky above twinkled with the lighthouse's beacon, creating a dreamy atmosphere where no one around could be sure of what was really going on.  
  
         Perhaps the lighthouse was just concentrating on a boat that had lost its way to the Penguin Village harbor. Yet in the end, it was focused on nothing but Goku and Arale, and not even a guppy dared to interrupt the bond they held together.  
  
         Goku was still grasping onto Arale's fist, but began to carry it more tenderly. The girl looped her fingers into his, and the two of them were soon holding hands.  
  
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*****  
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         But not far from this sweet little scene, some were not so enthusiastic about the turn of events. Two new arrivals were peeking out from just beyond the lighthouse, kids that were very close to Goku and Arale. Though they weren't noticed from behind the building, they could see well the situation their love interests were falling into. The emotion flowing from their eyes, and the hands that held each other so innocently…  
  
         "Miss Arale…" Obotchaman whispered, his lips quivering with despair.  
  
         A spark of emotion flared in Chichi's disbelieving eyes. "Goku?!"  
  
         Dramatic piano chord plays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Well, there goes another section of the story. I hope everything's making sense so far, considering the source material I'm drawing from. I'm wondering how I'm doing with characterization, especially concerning the Dr. Slump cast. So if you have any comments, please share them with me.
> 
> …Chichi's backwoods dialect? Well, when Viz first began printing Dragon Ball graphic novels, they decided to translate her dialogue as such, since she had a similar accent in the original Japanese version. Though the dialect was dropped eventually, portraying Chichi as a lil' country girl has some appeal for me, and it distinguishes her from the more volatile adult Chichi. So let's keep it in for now, and see how it goes.
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> OMAKE:  
> As promised, I'm going to give profiles for all the new characters making appearances here. Remember, though, the names are in Japanese order: family name first.
> 
> -
> 
> Norimaki Senbei: The creator of Arale, he is a talented scientist who makes many unusual devices as tests of his own genius. Unfortunately, he has an ego as advanced as his mind, and he is a bit of a pervert.
> 
> Norimaki Midori: Formerly Yamabuki Midori, she is the doting wife of Sembei and the foster mother of Arale. Additionally, she was also Arale's teacher at Sonritsu Junior High.
> 
> Norimaki Turbo: Offspring of Senbei and Midori, he is even more of a genius than his father. He uses telekinetic power to float in midair.
> 
> Ga-chans: Hatched from an egg in the prehistoric age, these strange creatures are angels from Kami himself. They fire electrical jolts from their antennae, and can eat anything except rubber.
> 
> Kimidori Akane: Arale's classmate and friend. Akane enjoys playing tricks on people, and has been known to play with heavy weaponry.
> 
> Tsun Tsuku-tsun (uh...we'll just call him Tsuku): Friendly and naïve, Tsuku is a young martial artist from China, who looks so much like Yamcha that it's not even funny. He has one other problem too: he changes into a tiger-man whenever a girl touches him. (causing a bit of trouble for Akane, his girlfriend)
> 
> Soremame Taro: Akane's pal, and quite a jerk in his own right. To comply with his desire to be a badass, he has become one of the cops of Penguin Village, so he can carry a gun and wear the uniform.
> 
> Obotchaman: Citizen of Penguin Village, and an extremely polite little boy. Like Arale, he is an android, created by the rival of Norimaki Senbei. Despite this, Obotchaman has devoted his life to good, and the romantic pursuit of Arale.
> 
> Suppaman (a.k.a. Sour Man): The resident superhero of Penguin Village, Clark Kenta uses the power of sour plums to transform into his alter ego. In actually, however, the sour plums provide no real power to Suppaman, and he is a coward at heart.
> 
> Son Goku: A young boy raised in the mountains, and…oh wait, you already know this character. ^_^
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> Teaser: It's been one day since the crash landing, and Goku and Arale's relationship has already gotten kinda steamy! Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones letting off some smoke, and Chichi and Obotchaman are ready to crash their party! What disaster will this spell for our hero and heroine? And who is that mystery man?
> 
> Coming up, in the next exciting episode of "From Penguin Village with Love!"
> 
> Until next time, Ja ne! ^_^


	3. Little Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arale takes Goku to the carnival, while Chi-Chi and Obotchaman try to sabotage their date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Dr. Slump is the property of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies, as well as all characters within. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.
> 
> Legend:  
> ( ) Denotes thoughts.  
> { } Denotes sound effects.

**From Penguin Village with Love**   
  
**By Reid M. Haynes**

  
  
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         Among the rolling hills of drenched, foreign moorland, a Victorian mansion stood silent atop the tallest of mounds, its loneliness pierced only by a sole candle in the windowsill. Illuminated by the firelight was a beautiful guestroom, with a closed sort of design and an open door to the hallway. Along the west wing, a series of paintings made their way along the West Wing, featuring a long line of dapper, yet potent individuals. And through the too-thin walls to the den, the all too familiar sounds of moaning ecstasy could be heard just beyond, inferring an abundance of passion and OOC writing.  
  
         Inside the lavish living area, Bulma and Vegeta curled up on the loveseat, their scantily clad bodies gleaming glassily in the glow of the blazing hearth. “Oh Vegeta,” the lady teased lazily, a sick little smile coasting her blood red lips. “You’re such a monster!”  
  
         “Yes, woman,” Vegeta crooned passionately, moving in for the kill. “And now, you will see what a real Super Saiyan is like.”  
  
         At that moment, a small toy robot with a gas mask bolted into the scene. “No, no, no!” it cried, waving its mechanical appendages in a frustrated panic. “No Barbara Cartland nonsense!”  
  
         “Huh?” Vegeta blanked out, completely forgetting about the abundance of manliness that he was supposed to be displaying.  
  
         Bulma slowly crawled out from under the man, a confused look on her face. “Who are you?” she asked curiously, resting her hand on her hip for effect.  
  
         “I’m the author of this fanfic, represented by this classic Toriyama-style robot avatar!” the newcomer answered, shaking a mechanical appendage in distaste at the scandal about to transpire. “And this story is about happy, romantic poo-poking, not the adventures of Lord Sin!”  
  
         “Poo-poking?” Vegeta growled, a disgusted grimace twisting on his mouth.  
  
         “Romantic?!” Bulma lurched back, about twice as horrified as her mate.  
  
         The weird little thing nodded, putting his hands on his hips. “That’s right!” The robot turned back to the audience. “And now, back to ‘From Penguin Village with Love!’”  
  
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 **Tale 3: Little Date**  
  
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*****  
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         On the shoreline of Gengoro Island, far from the everyday activities of Penguin Village, a lone construct shone in the early evening sunset. It was a medium sized warehouse, with a triangular roof and a frame built from a lax combination of steel and aluminum. Though it was far from a foreboding night, the shadows the building cast upon the overgrown grass seemed to suck away the pleasant nature of the locale to turn it into a morbid parody of itself. All in all, being so spectacularly out of place, it was obvious that this building had been created solely for this fanfic, and for no other reason.  
  
         The young boy stared out at his town from the dregs of the warehouse, his hand resting on the windowpane. With a wet, slipping sound, he lifted his hand from the now-smudged surface of the class to turn towards the other occupant. “The night is falling, and our time is almost up,” he said, his eyes shining behind their glasses. “If we are to strike a preemptive blow, we must be swift!”  
  
         His partner, a girl of the same physical age, slammed her fist against her palm. “Then let’s getta goin’, then!” she said determinedly, her expression fierce in the shadowy light of the warehouse. “Time’s a wastin’!”  
  
         But the boy did nothing to encourage her enthusiasm, instead turning his eyes towards the collection of boxes and barrels. His eyes scanned over the containers, the labels reading ‘Gag Store’ and ‘Talking Poo Piles’. “Are you certain you wish to follow though with this course of action?” he asked her in a careful sort of voice. “Meddling in the affairs of others…”  
  
         “I am a princess,” she declared, in a tone that was very ‘Daddy’s Girl’. “It’s my royal duty t’ watch ova’ th’ people. ‘Specially someone so cute!”  
  
         He closed his eyes hard. “So be it.” When they opened again, they gave him a look as close to sinister that had ever appeared on the boy. He made a small fist. “As Kami as my witness, Norimaki Arale and Son Goku shall not be together!”  
  
         The girl smiled grimly, and approached him. “No way, no how!” she said, extending her hand.  
  
         Chichi and Obotchaman shook hands, their mutual grips signifying a forging of ideals and passions. At that moment, a bolt of lightning dramatically lit the sky behind the windowpanes, filling the warehouse with a pane of white light. {KKKKRRAK! KABOOM!!!} It illuminated their darkened expressions like the fires of Hell upon the Devil’s visage. Truly, their dark alliance was a force to be reckoned with.  
  
         Obotchaman strained slightly with the added weight in his arms, aiming a cautious eye towards the girl. Chichi was shivering like mad from the lightning blast, clutching onto his spike-topped head like she wanted to climb on top of it. “S-scary…!”  
  
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*****  
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         The inside of Senbei’s laboratory was a mess. Cramped and filled to capacity, it was nothing like the labyrinthine complexes owned by the mad scientists in big budget movie productions and cartoons. To its credit, all sorts of odds and ends were packed into the corners and stacked on top of each other, most of them bearing some quality of ridiculousness. It was a strange, yet serviceable little hovel.  
  
         “So if we just bypass the feedback loop, we should have enough power to get the auxiliary systems online…” The man himself was currently tuning up his most advanced invention: his daughter. Arale’s head had opened up like a can of sardines to reveal a maze of circuits and switches, each periodically sparking as Senbei poked a long, metal implement into her skull. The girl’s eyes were wandering about the lab listlessly, looking for something to occupy her attentions. Apparently, having someone tinker inside her brain wasn’t enough to get her interest aroused.  
  
         “Are you done yet, Hakase?” she complained loudly, turning her head a full 180 degrees to stare at her creator. “I wanna play with Go-kun s’more!”  
  
         Senbei grunted as he was forced to pull the instrument out of her neural circuitry prematurely. “Stop moving around so much,” he snapped, clasping her head and turning it back to face the wall. “How do you expect me to operate on you when you keep turning your head?”  
  
         Arale basically ignored him, and continued to wobble her head back and forth. “So I’m supposed to be better after this?” she asked bluntly. “Will I have super boom-boom rockets coming out of my breasts?”  
  
         He let out a snort. “As if I’d give you anything more dangerous than what you already have,” Senbei said, a rough scowl on his face. “This is just to raise your inhibitions so you don’t do anything too stupid.”  
  
         “Like the time I showed Miss Midori your collection of girly pics?” Arale mentioned, a bright smile on her lips. “That was funny! Kyahaha!”  
  
         “Arrrgh…” Senbei clenched his fists and growled in frustration at his creation’s poor grasp on…everything.  
  
         The tune-up continued on after sunset, and the good doctor had to periodically wipe the sweat off of his brow. Time passed on as if through a sieve, but the night slowly approached them both through the sunroof that yielded moonlight.  
  
         Suddenly, Arale spoke up. “Hakase, whadaya do when you wanna get a boy to do kissy kiss stuff?” she asked, staring off at the other side of the room.  
  
         The man stopped his work for a second. “Huh?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
         “Like that thing you do with Sensei Midori where you go into your room and say ‘now my precious it’s time I show you my manly allure’ and Sensei Midori says ‘not now honey I have a headache’ and you say ‘but I waited all week with nothing but Cosmopolitan for company’ and Sensei Midori says ‘fine’ and you do kissy kiss stuff,” she clarified in one rapid burst, not even stopping to take a fresh breath of air.  
  
         Senbei struggled to catch the gist of Arale’s monologue, and pondered over the words. “Well, you usually try to wear something nice to attract his attention,” he replied thoughtfully, rubbing his chin roughly. “And it helps to say ‘that’s not all that’s beautiful tonight’ or some sexy crap like that.”  
  
         Arale’s eyes lost focus for a moment as she digested this information. Then, her expression went loopy once again. “Okay!” she chimed happily.  
  
         Senbei, for his part, just stared down at the mass of circuitry that was everything Arale was. His expression was stiff and his hands felt stiff with all the hard dexterous work they had done. He looked around at the girl’s face, which continued to sport a gleeful, oblivious grin. Then he closed his eyes, trying to keep his thoughts in order.  
  
         Her attitude was basically the same, but there was something in her eyes that just wasn’t the same Arale. Why on earth was his clueless creation asking all these bizarre, lovey-dovey questions? She never used to inquire about this kind of stuff before that Goku kid came around. Could it be…?  
  
         Senbei shook his head free of these confusing and contrary thoughts. “No way!”  
  
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*****  
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         The night air was cool and refreshing, like a blast of water onto a desert survivor. With an absence of industry and smog producing factories, the stars were able to shine freely alongside a full moon. No one was quite sure how the moon got back up there this time, but the Penguin Villagers tended not to ask too many questions about these sorts of things. When you live on an island where your sun smiles cheerily, you tend to not ask too many questions about anything.  
  
         Goku leaned against a palm tree about three blocks away from the Norimaki residence, the cool air ruffling his spiky black hair. Still wearing his Penguin Village duds, he adjusted the bill of his winged cap slightly so that it didn’t interfere with his vision. He turned back to the general direction of the house, and scanned the road ahead of him. Finally, he folded his arms behind his head lazily and exhaled a blast of warm air, wondering when his friend was finally going to arrive.  
  
         A moment passed, and the boy soon saw a trail of smoke coming around the bend in the road. Goku squinted sharply, and made out a small figure running along the lines in the middle of the street. That figure was making good time to the rendezvous point under the palm, and looking like it would arrive in less than four seconds. It began slowing down, skidded on its heels for a stop, and arrived right in front of him with a friendly “N’cha!”  
  
         Goku regarded Arale with a blank stare. The girl was lavishly dressed in…a penguin suit? Yes, it was a penguin suit, with stubby wings, flippers, and Arale’s head inside the beak. “What’s with the bird getup?” he asked her, his eyes wide and non-comprehending.  
  
         She grinned. “Hakase said I should wear the best thing I got!” Arale exclaimed, waving her wings like the flightless bird she was dressed as. “Yup, that’s what he said!”  
  
         “Oh, um, okay,” he replied, turning his head slightly away from her. Privately, he muddled over this strange cosplay in his mind. (She’s cool, but weird)  
  
         “So, what now?” he asked her, recovering from this shock quickly enough.  
  
         “We go to the fair now!” she responded enthusiastically, grabbing his arm and yanking him away from his tree-side post. Before he had the chance to object, she quickly pointed out with her other hand. “Looky looky!”  
  
         The boy turned his gaze toward that which the girl’s finger pointed to, and his face lit up with a bright smile. Goku and Arale were now staring into the midst of a grand carnival, stretching down the road all the way to the Coffee Pot and beyond. All sorts of strange folks were crowding the streets, some wearing masks, some not needing masks. It was a very Halloweenish atmosphere, a funny coincidence, since the holiday was actually not too far.  
  
         “Wow!” Goku cried out, shielding his eyes from the impressive light display it gave off. “That looks like a lot of fun!”  
  
         “Yup!” Arale agreed, nodding her head twice. Then, she made a grab for his hand, ensnaring it within her wing. “Let’s have fun together!” she said, smiling up at him.  
  
         Goku stood motionless for a moment, staring uncomprehendingly at the hand and wing entwined. Then, his gaze grew confident once more, and he gripped back. “Right!”  
  
         And with a collective bout of "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin...!", they were off to the festival.  
  
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*****  
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         “Look at that little tramp fondlin’ my Goku!” the girl rumbled, her hands breaking apart some twigs in her hands. “I can’t staaand it!”  
  
         “Please refrain from insulting Miss Arale,” her partner replied, holding up a pair of binoculars to his face. “Though I must admit, the matter is quite disconcerting.”  
  
         “I’ll say!” she agreed, a pained grimace stretching her mouth.  
  
         Chichi and Obotchaman were huddled behind some tall shrubbery off the side of the main road, their eyes narrow and calculating. They had brought all the necessary equipment for a childish espionage: binoculars, walkie-talkies, microphones, and those special sunglasses that have mirrors in them so you can look behind yourself. It was worth noting that Chichi had gotten new duds: some Chinese clothing belonging to Tsuku-tsun’s sister. They were light, comfortable, and excellent for moving quickly from place to place. (though she had kept the cape and gloves for flair)  
  
         “Lemme see that,” she requested abruptly, snatching away the binoculars so fast that they nearly left indentions on the boy’s face. The girl took a long look through them, following Goku and Arale’s distant forms. “Okay, so what d’we do now?” she asked, without looking around at him.  
  
         Obotchaman put a hand to his chin and pondered this thought. “They should be arriving at the first point of interest at 2000 hours,” he stated, taking a look at the watch on his hand. “We will strike then.”  
  
         “We gotta hurry!” Chichi said, standing up. She grabbed Obotchaman’s hand and took off after the duo, being careful to beep a distance of about 20 meters between them.  
  
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*****  
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         Every festival is an exciting time for the town that decides to host it. But not every festival lived up to the fanciful frolic of Penguin Village’s revered events. All around them, the various costumed and masked characters enjoyed carnival games like “Whack a Toriyama” or “Shoot the Moon.” The last one was particularly notorious for its bathroom humor, and as such, was a personal favorite of Norimaki Arale.  
  
         Tonight, though, the android girl had more on her mind that simply one game. Arale dragged Goku everywhere with her, from the shooting galleries to the goldfish scooping game, laughing and giggling at the way. The bright lights and smell of hotdogs had completely over-stimulated her, and no one was able to stop her recklessness. It was a good thing most of the villagers decided to clear out whenever they saw her coming; at her speed, she’d flattened them to the ground.  
  
         “Let’s go this way, okay Go-kun!?” she squealed, in a manner that indicated that it wasn’t really a question.  
  
         “Slow down, will ya!” Goku called out, his arm stretched nearly to the breaking point. “I haven’t eaten yet, so I’m not as fast as you now!”  
  
         But in her zeal, she completely ignored him while she continued to rip up the fairgrounds, quite literally in fact. Some of the stands were getting pretty sheered up by her sheer speed. (yes, it’s a pun. Deal with it ^_^) It was only when the girl saw something to distract her that she stopped this frenzy to focus in another direction. “Oh, Turbo!” she cried out, taking off towards the new distraction and taking her friend with her, clueless on how scruffed up he was getting.  
  
         The duo arrived towards a refreshment stand, where a small baby, of all people, was tending to the snacks. Arale quickly dragged Goku up to the countertop to converse with the child. “N’cha, Turbo!” she said cheerfully, leaning an arm casually against the countertop. “I brought Go-kun again!”  
  
         Considering this town, it was not at all unusual when the baby began speaking back, in perfect English that rivaled Obotchaman’s. “Hi, Arale!” he said, giving her a big, gummy smile and glancing over at her companion. “Yes, I remember Goku!”  
  
         “H-hi…” Goku said slowly, trying to recall where he had last seen this boy before. Then, his mind supplied him with the identity. “Hey, you’re th’ kid that gave me the new Dragon Ball Radar, aren’cha?” he continued with more energy, smiling down at him. “You must be real smart!”  
  
         “Heh heh!” the little child laughed in embarrassment, putting a hand on the back of his soft head.  
  
         Norimaki Turbo, prodigy child of Senbei and Midori, had grown and changed since he had last met up with the young monkey boy. In addition to being bigger, he now had a full head of blonde hair, cropped into a simple bowl cut. Even at his early age, it was obvious he would grow to have the attractiveness of his mother and the brains of his father. He could still use a few more teeth, however.  
  
         “Let my show you my new invention!” Turbo continued, going over to the back of the stand. “Daddy doesn’t know about it yet!”  
  
         Arale craned her head over to look as the baby brought out his latest work. Then, her face lit up with excitement. “Coooooool!” she squealed, almost falling over to the other side of the counter from leaning so much. “It’s an ice cream machine!”  
  
         Goku’s tail twitched in confusion. “‘Eyes’ cream?” he questioned suspiciously, looking at the object like he looked at every modern appliance; like it was going to jump out and attack someone.  
  
         The device was not too remarkable, at first glance. Just a simple soft-serve machine, with handles and spouts. A second look, however, would reveal that it was apparently capable of producing twenty-two different flavors instead of the usual three. All of this was operated by a special switch on the top that pointed to several different settings, causing the three spouts to produce several different combinations of tasty treat.  
  
         “Want to try pistachio?” the child asked, making a motion to turn on the top switch. “I’ve got it right here!”  
  
         “Try it, Go-kun!” Arale insisted, pumping her fists energetically. “Tryittryittryittryittryit!”  
  
         “I d’n know…” he said uncertainly, taking another careful glance at the ice cream machine.  
  
         “Hey, y’said you were hungry!” she argued cheerfully, not discouraged in the slightest. “Tryittryittryittryittryittryittryittryittryittryit!”  
  
         At last, Goku gave in. “Okay,” he said, conjuring up an outgoing smile.  
  
         “Yay!” Arale cheered, throwing her hands in the air.  
  
         Turbo smiled as well. “Two pistachio ice creams coming right up!” he called out, going over to pick out two cake cones.  
  
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*****  
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         “Alright, they’re here!” Chichi whispered excitedly, tugging on her ally’s sleeve as she looked down at her targets. “Get ready!”  
  
         “Are you sure about this, Miss Chichi?” Obotchaman asked, looking doubtful. “I mean, just throwing ice cream on their heads isn’t really much.”  
  
         “They’re gonna hafta clean ‘demselves off, aren’t they?” the girl muttered under her breath, giving him a frustrated look. “We get ‘em when they’re comin’ out of the restroom!”  
  
         “I suppose,” he relented, and crawled over to the edge for a better vantage point.  
  
         The two had positioned themselves on top of Turbo’s refreshment stand, where they had a bird’s eye view of Goku and Arale. They had bought two cones of chocolate ice cream, which managed to stay cold in the somewhat chilly weather. The plan was to dunk the two with the frozen treats, causing them to go off to their respective restrooms to clean up. Then, Chichi and Obotchaman would position themselves at the door of the restroom their love interest had gone in and wait, stalker-like, for them to come out so they could split the two up.  
  
         “It’s the perfect plan!” Chichi puffed herself up with pride. “My dad would be proud o’ me using such great battle strategies!”  
  
         “Let’s hope you are correct,” Obotchaman stated while pulling his cone up to bear.  
  
         The two waited a moment longer, feeling the palpable tension in the air. The ice cream cones in their hand felt more like jagged icicles, ready to bloody themselves on any victim unfortunate to come within their paths. Unable to resist any longer, they simultaneously threw their projectiles at the victims like stealth ninjas on their first assassination mission. (Bombs away!) they both thought to themselves as the two cones fell on a collision course for Goku and Arale’s skulls.  
  
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*****  
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         “Enjoying your cones?” Turbo commented lightly, smiling at the two friends.  
  
         “Yup!” Arale responded, licking her ice cream with zeal.  
  
         “Hey, this stuff is pretty good!” Goku professed, holding his cone up like it was some awesome new discovery. “No eyes in it at all!”  
  
         “I’m glad,” the infant said, nodding his head with satisfaction.  
  
         Suddenly a flash of brown appeared in the corner of his vision, and Turbo craned his bulbous head upward to bring it within view. Two chocolate ice cream cones were enroute to Goku and Arale, seconds away from sliming them with a cold, sticky mess. But instead of panicking, Turbo simply concentrated for a moment, bringing his surprisingly vast mental energies up to bear. He gathered the energy in his hand, lifted a pudgy finger upwards…  
  
         And stopped the two cones dead in the air.  
  
         The child blinked a few times, and looked back at Goku and Arale. They were completely unaware of the cones psionically hovering above them, and continue to slurp their own cones as if nothing had happened. “That isn’t good,” Turbo said to himself quietly so that the two couldn’t hear him. “I’d better get rid of this!”  
  
         With a quick psychic burst, he sent the cones flying harmlessly away, where they would do no harm. Then, he went back to the front of his stand, ready to tend to other customers.  
  
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*****  
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         As it turns out, Turbo hadn’t actually sent the ice cream cones very far at all. They had quickly reached the height of their flight after about five meters and headed back down to the surface. They dived down like little creamy missiles, closed in over the top of Turbo’s ice cream stand. Unfortunately, two kids happened to be sitting on it at the time.  
  
         “I’m all sticky!” Chichi whined, a gob of chocolate ice cream drooling down her cheek.  
  
         “Actually, I’m more of a chocolate-vanilla swirl type of person,” Obotchaman said to himself, licking some of the goop off his face.  
  
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         Later, Goku and Arale were continuing through the festival grounds, hunger relieved and energy restored. Having been cooled down by the ice cream, Arale was content just to hold Goku’s hand and walk by his side, her face obliviously happy. Goku was calm as well, letting the girl grip onto him without complaint. Hey, maybe there was something to this touchy-feely thing.  
  
         “Step right up, folks, for the greatest moment in your stupid, meaningless lives!” an amplified voice broke through the clamor of the festival. “Come one, come all!”  
  
         “Hoyo?” the both of them said, looking over to the booth on their right where the speech had originated.  
  
          “That’s right, it’s Crazy Akane’s Blast-A-Thon!” the girl running the show called out, holding a megaphone to her mouth. “Tired of your jerkwad boss giving you crap? Well, let loose your unbridled fury! We have targets representing every employer here in Penguin Village, from the guy that runs the glasses shop to my own sister! And all only for 20 zenny!”  
  
         “Oooh, that’s fun!” Arale said, her eyes widening up. “Let’s go, Go-kun!”  
  
         The boy nodded, and the two of them headed over to the booth. Akane saw them coming, and put on a friendlier smile. “Hey, Arale,” she said, folding her arms in a smooth, cool manner. “Brought th’ chimp kid again, eh?”  
  
         “Yup!” she responded, nodding her head. “We wanna play the shoot-shoot thing, please!”  
  
         The older girl pretended to mull over this, putting a hand to her chin. “Well, I dunno, it is rather expensive,” she said thoughtfully, looking over at the cash register. “But for you, just 40 zenny!”  
  
         “Okay!” Arale said merrily, reaching into her pockets for the correct amount.  
  
         She cheerfully handed over the dough, completely unaware that her friend has scammed the hell out of her. Akane snickered deviously at her fortune, springing the cash register and putting it away. She glanced over to her partner, Tsuku, leaning against the wall. “Set ‘em up, Tsuku-kun!” she instructed, pointing over to the fallen targets on the floor.  
  
         The Chinese youth obeyed without hesitation, walking out of the shadows and tending to the targets. One by one, each of the targets found their place on the back wall, revealing themselves to the spitting image of many of the villagers in the arrow. Soon they were all set up and ready for play, grinning eerily at the participants. And Arale was grabbing her cork-bazooka and setting her sights on the most appealing target.  
  
         “Better watch out, Arale-chan!” Goku said cheerfully, his tone not in all in sync with the warning. “If y’ mess up and hit Yamcha, he might use his Wolf Fang Fist on ya!”  
  
         “How much time do I have to say it?” Tsuku screamed desperately, trying his hardest to get through to the dense boy. “I not Yamcha!” Then, his expression changed to an eager one. “Though, I be very much thankful if tell me secret of Wolf Fang Fist,” he requested somewhat excitedly, his eyes bulging wide as he finished his sentence.  
  
         Goku only laughed. “You should know best of all, Yamcha!” he told him, much to the disappointment of the other martial artist.  
  
         “No more talk,” Arale said distractedly, bringing the bazooka’s sight to her eye. “Shoot-shoot time.” They quieted down as the girl prepared.  
  
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*****  
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         “Are y’sure this one will work?” Chichi said from behind the shooting gallery, peering out furtively at her oblivious rival, who continued to adjust the bazooka on her shoulder.  
  
         “It cannot fail,” Obotchaman replied, very self-assured. “Everything will go off without a hitch.”  
  
         Earlier, Chichi had played Akane’s shooting game as a distraction, upon seeing it was a popular attraction. (since she was an out-of-towner, the price was only 60 zenny) This had given Obotchaman an opportunity to sneak a hand in and snatch one of the targets from under the carrot-top’s nose. Figuring a pile of poo to be the most likely target Arale would hit, he rigged it up with a special smoke-screen device that would dispense a cloudy covering upon strong impact. When he saw Arale and Goku coming, he quickly replaced the target and moved away to meet up with Chichi, where they could discuss the next phase in their plan.  
  
         “After the smoke screen is released, we rush in and take our respective loves out separately,” he explained to her, making a few hand motions for emphasis. “We will say that we were just trying to help them and, in turn, this will show us in a positive light, which a great way to reintroduce ourselves as the number one person in their lives.”  
  
         “That’s great!” Chichi said happily, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Ever’thang will be back to normal in a jiffy!”  
  
         “Heh heh!” he chuckled lightly, a bit bashful from all the praise. Still, he’d rather be hearing it from Miss Arale instead. That innocent, completely honest eulogizing that came so willingly whenever he pulled forth a successful prank superior to her mischief. (Arale’s ego was not overbearing) But he trusted his plan would have her singing wondrous acclaims once again.  
  
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XXXXX  
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         "Hoyo?” Arale burbled, putting the bazooka down and staring at the new arrivals. “You wanna try too?”  
  
         “Peep peep!” they replied, their antennae twitching with enthusiasm.  
  
         The Ga-chans 1 and 2 had just flown at the festival, looking for their best friend Arale. They had scoured the grounds up and down before finally bumping into her and Goku just before the girl was about to take her shot. Seeing the shooting gallery before, they quickly grew excited at the many toys they could win by participating. They had quickly propositioned Arale to let them take the shot instead, chirping in an incomprehensible dialogue.  
  
         The discussion went on with a few more peeps before Arale gave in. “Okay!” she relented amicably, putting down the bazooka. “Go fer it!”  
  
         The cupid-like companions cheered happily, waving their hands up the air. They eagerly set themselves up on the counter, and prepared themselves.  
  
         “Hey, no freebees!” Akane snapped out angrily, shaking her hands in their general direction. “You gotta pay for those bazookas! 180 zenny!”  
  
         But using the cork bazookas wasn’t what they had in mind. The Ga-chans tightened up, and a thick tendril of electricity began to crackle between their antennae. Completely ignoring the shocked look in Akane and Tsuku’s eyes, they continued to charge energy, waiting until they had reached an appropriate level of power. Then {BZZZTTTTT!!!} they let loose two arcing bolts of electricity out…  
  
         …right at Obotchaman’s target.  
  
         As it turns out, the effect the lightning had on the smoke screen target was a magnifying one. Instead of letting loose a dense but harmless cloud of smoke, it turned the target into an electrical bomb. {B-KOOOM!} it detonated, sending a blast of thick black fumes in all directions, concealing all from view. And when the smoke cleared, it revealed a broken and dilapidated booth, looking like it was going to fall over any given moment.  
  
         Arale blinked a few times from the stinging smoke, then laughed happily. “You blasted it!” she said to the Ga-chans, who yelped in glee at the praise. Then, she took a look to the right. “And you got Akane-chan, too!” she added on, grinning even wider. “That’s great! Kyahaha!”  
  
         Goku laughed loudly, a wide smile on his face. “She looks funny,” he stated, pointing out at Arale’s friend.  
  
         Akane stood seething in the booth, her clothes completely blackened and her hair standing on end from the shock. “I really gotta stop goin’ to these things,” she growled, her teeth grinding together like some sort of ape.  
  
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         Just behind the booth, separated from Akane by a few totaled boards, two others had also felt the effects of the extreme impact. Indeed, their clothes were just as sooty, and their face was like a seasoned pan. They had fortunately avoided the brunt of the blast, so they hair wasn’t quite as ‘Frankenstein’s Bride’ as Akane’s was. But they still managed to draw quite a few stares from the villagers, which was a considerable feat, since these people lived in Arale’s hometown.  
  
         “Well, this didn’t turn out any better,” Obotchaman stated blankly, his glasses bent and crooked on his face.  
  
         Chichi looked like she was about to burst into big, wailing, anime-tears. “I hate this fanfic!” she whimpered, her lower lip trembling in a very childlike manner.  
  
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*****  
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         The merry cricket chirps carried off in the slow breeze, bringing a twitchy melody to anyone within earshot. It was 11:15, and the slowly festival was slowly coming to a close. A lot of the booth workers had already called it quits, either to go home or to enjoy a few more moments of the fair without working. Most people did it for the latter, unwilling to leave until they had seen the final part of the celebration: the fireworks display.  
  
         Atop the grassy hill overlooking Penguin Village, Goku and Arale looked down upon the twinkling lights, enjoying the last moments of the festival from a distance. The high-altitude wind blew their bangs back against their foreheads and threatened to knock Goku’s winged cap off his head. Their face bore bright smiles, obviously confident that their companion was right beside them, as they did not turn to face the other. Goku’s hand and Arale’s wing were lightly touching, though, so lightly it was obvious they scantly knew they were touching at all.  
  
         Goku breathed in some dewdrop air, and turned his head to face his friend. “That was pretty fun!” he decided. “Almost as fun as fightin’ in the Tenka’ichi Budokai!”  
  
         “Uh huh,” Arale nodded, rubbing her glasses free from the light that had enveloped them.  
  
         The boy smiled. “‘Course, that game with the hammer and bell was too easy,” he said simply, absently flexing a chubby muscle. “I didn’t even break a sweat!”  
  
         “Aoi told me their gonna built a new game for next festival!” she told him, pumping her fists enthusiastically. “Next year, even I’ll be able t’ play it!”  
  
         He returned the smile ardently. “Yup!”  
  
         The two resumed their vigil over the tiny hamlet of a town, enjoying the peace of each other’s company. The wind has since died down, and their bangs fell loosely over their brows.  
  
         Then, Arale turned towards him. “Hey Go-kun, why didn’tcha visit before now?” she asked him, her eyes wide and innocent.  
  
         Goku blinked a bit at this. “Well, I was kinda busy fightin’ and stuff,” he answered her, not seeing where she was going with this.  
  
         “You should visit more oftener,” she stated, grabbing him arm and pumping it thoroughly. “We c’d be havin’ all sorts of fun while your doing your trainin’ thing! We would be together a lot!” Her face shone with childlike sincerity. “And that would be real cool.”  
  
         As imperceptive as the boy was, there was nothing that could be done to keep the girl’s statement from hitting him to the core. Arale’s innocent words were not unlike those of Chichi, who would always force things upon him that he didn’t understand. And yet, somehow with her, he sensed this could be far better than something he just didn’t get. Who knew, maybe this’ll be as exciting as fighting Taopaipai!  
  
         And in that moment, Goku understood.  
  
         Regaining his confidence, he turned back towards the girl. “Okay,” he said softly, a gentle, yet strong smile on his face.  
  
         Arale’s face lit up like a sunrise. “Really?” she asked him eagerly, a huge grin covering her face.  
  
         He nodded. “I mean, no one said I couldn’t fight ‘n’ train with somebody, right?” he reasoned, half to the girl, half to himself. “I bet there’s lots of fun I can have being around someone!”  
  
         He gripped her flippered hands tightly. “We can do it all together!” he said seriously, his eyes piercing through hers even through her glasses.  
  
         “Hoyo-yo, that’s cool, Go-kun!” Arale squealed, a cheesy, clown-like smile on her lips.  
  
         She squeezed back. And in that moment, a flurry of fireworks enflamed the sky in patches of red, blue, and gold. The couple’s bodies were awash in a fiery conflagration of color, turning them into Fluorescent Goku and Arale. But their attention was only on each other, as the two waiting for their attachment to reach an apex on the coming new day.  
  
         And waited.  
  
         And waited.  
  
         “So what do we do now?” Goku asked, suddenly feeling very weird.  
  
         “I dunno,” the girl responded, letting go of his hands. Stepping back, she reached behind her and suddenly pulled out a large booklet, possibly from subspace. The boy looked over Arale’s shoulder, and found it was a yellow and black striped self-help book entitled ‘Dating for Arales,’ bearing a very confused robot on the cover. She flipped though the material at a lightning pace before finally stopping at Page 177, the chapter detailing first-base.  
  
         “Lessee…” she murmured, scanning quickly over the text. “It says here that ‘when a girl and boy experience a strong romantic and emotional connection, it may be a prime opportunity to share a kiss.’”  
  
         The boy made a face. “’Kiss?’” he gurgled out as if the word referred to a gross species of extraterrestrial. “What’s ‘kiss?’”  
  
         “That’s what Akane and Tsuku-tsun are always talkin’ about!” she exclaimed in realization, her arm falling to her side along with the booklet. “Whenever they do it, he turns into a tiger!”  
  
         He raised an eyebrow in hesitation. “Sounds weird,” he decided with a small frown. Soon, though, Goku turned to look her in the eye. “But if we’re supposed t’ do it, let’s go do it!” he decided, his battle face hardening up his soft features.  
  
         She nodded, whirling to him once more. They stared at each other from a distance of about one foot, not sure on whom was going to go first. Arale’s eyes were unblinking as she slowly shifted her weight. “I think it goes like this,” she said, and slowly leaned forward towards his face.  
  
         Goku, frozen with a shock that battle could never give you, made a small noise as the girl moved in for the kill. But soon, he relaxed, and slowly closed his eyes in preparation for her to do…whatever she was going to do.  
  
         And when he opened them again, he found that she had completely ensnared his nose within her lips. He watched with some confusion as Arale happily sucked on his nose as if it were the nub of a baby bottle. “No, I don’t think you’re supposed t’ do that,” he wheezed, finding it difficult to breath not that his nostrils were complete cut off from the open air.  
  
         Releasing his nose with an audible ‘pop,’ she stared back at him wide-eyed. “Hoyo?”  
  
         “Yeah, I think you actually do this,” With that, Goku moved over to the girl’s side and grasped her head in between his two hands. Pulling her towards him, he covered her ear with his mouth, and started gnawing on it softly.  
  
         Arale clenched her left eye shut as spittle and slobber landed on her face. “Maybe we should try this,” she said, yanking her head away from the boy’s smacking lips. When he had stopped trying to chew on her, she walked around behind Goku and jumped on his back. Climbing on top of his head, she grabbed a big tuff of his hair and began to chew on it like a Twizzler.  
  
         And suddenly, an irate female scream shook the grassy hill like the prelude to a landslide. “AAAHH! I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!”  
  
         Both Goku and Arale turned their heads toward the blasting sound. “Hoyo?”  
  
         Brushing aside the foliage she had been hiding in, Chichi burst into the scene, followed shortly by Obotchaman. Her cape formed a saffron shadow behind her as she approached the two. “How could’ja do this to me!?” she warbled, her hands closed firmly into fists. “With a floozy like her!”  
  
         “Chichi!” Goku gaped at the arrival of the other woman in his life. “What are you doing here?”  
  
         The fiery female ignored his query for the moment, instead turning back to her companion. “Look at them, Obotchaman, climbin’ all ova’ each otha’!” She pointed at the duo, Arale still mounted atop Goku. “They’re doin’ dirty things!”  
  
         “Miss Arale…performing such actions…” Obotchaman was shocked speechless, his eyes containing a liquid mixture of hurt and shock. “And out of wedlock…?”  
  
         “That’s right!” Chichi affirmed, stalking over to her future husband and yanking him forward, causing Arale to fall flat on her back. “The only one my Goku going to be marryin’ is me!”  
  
         “Hoyo?” Goku babbled in confusion, staring blankly at the feisty brunette. “But wasn’t ‘marriage’ some tasty foreign dish?”  
  
         Chichi lurched back as if shot. “That’s whatcha thought ‘marriage’ was?!” she cried out, her face turning all different shades of white, peach, and red.  
  
         “Hoyo?” the boy said again, tilting his head to the side in complete bafflement.  
  
         “Quit sayin’ that!” she hollered at him frantically, causing his bangs to fly back in his face from the sheer force of her voice.  
  
         “I know!” Arale suddenly chimed in, her face all smiles in spite of this very heated situation. “I bet this book knows what marriage is!” Happy that she had found a solution, she again picked up “Dating for Arales,” turning to the near end of the book. The other three waited in tense silence as the myopic jinzouningen read though the final parts of the booklet, almost up to the author credits.  
  
         “Take her hand in marriage…wedding reception…mother in law…” The girl’s muttering could barely be heard even in the stifling silence. “Hey, I bet this is something we can do, Go-kun!” she finally said, thrusting the pages in front of his face. “And it says here we get t’ have all sorts of fun on this ‘wedding night’ thing! Cool!”  
  
         The boy ran a cursory glance over the material before finally agreeing. “Looks like fun!” he said, nodding his head.  
  
         A shocked hush overtook the other two participants of this farce, and even Goku and Arale stopped to look at the other group. Chichi’s face had turned ashen, the blood soaking away to other parts of her body. Obotchaman was the very image of heartbreak, his eyes filling up with hot, burning tears. It was perhaps the saddest moment Penguin Village had ever experienced.  
  
         “But…I was supposed to marry Miss Arale…” Obotchaman muttered softly, his gaze downcast and sorrowful.  
  
         “Obotchaman-kun?” Arale said, for the first time showing something akin to concern.  
  
         And that was where Chichi blew her stack. “You evil, purple-haired hussy!” she barked ferociously, approaching the other girl and pushing her. “You ruined everything!”  
  
         “Hoyo?” Arale spoke, stumbling back slightly from the force of the shove.  
  
         “Always thinkin’ you can just take whateva’ you want from people!” Chichi continued, pushing her again. “Not thinkin’ ‘bout nobody but yerself!”  
  
         “Hoyo!” Arale cried out, nearly tripping over her own feet.  
  
         “Well let me tell you somethin’,” The raven-haired mistress stood like the shadow of Death over the android girl, her eyes flashing with fury. “YOU WON’T TAKE MY GOKU!”  
  
         And with that, she pushed Arale a final time, causing her to topple backwards. Since they had moved to the slope of the hill, the footing was too precarious for the girl to possibly retain it. Moreover, she was wearing a very rounded penguin suit, and this caused her to roll rather than stop on the hillside. One thing led to another, and she was soon picking up speed as she made a beeline for the prairie below.  
  
         “Arale-chan!” Goku said.  
  
         “Miss Arale!” Obotchaman cried out.  
  
         “HOYOOOOO…!!!” Arale wailed, rolling all the way down into the depths of the valley.  
  
         As Goku and Obotchaman chased after the tumbling girl, Chichi came down from her ravenous high, blinking cutely. Pensively, she approached the steep, grass incline, peering down at the fallen female. “Gee, did I overdo it?” she asked herself, putting a finger to her lips.  
  
         Then a blue streak bolted from the valley, formless in all its velocity. The dark-haired lass watched as the shape reached the peak of its jump, then spiraled back down to the top of the hill, landing right in front of her. The costumed figure’s head was lowered, but soon it rose up to stare Chichi straight in the eye. It was Arale, scuffed with dirt, and as angry as anybody had ever seen her.  
  
         “That’s not cool!” she yelled, waving her penguin wings furiously.  
  
         “Well…you made me mad!” Chichi protested, her earlier ire making a comeback.  
  
         Arale raised her arms in a pose resembling that of a bear ready to maul an unlucky victim. “Now we hafta wrestle!” she announced, making a face somewhere between intimidating and silly.  
  
         Chichi lurched back a bit at this declaration, but quickly regained her nerve. “F-fine!” she said, pulling up into a fighting stance.  
  
         The two rivals glared at each other heatedly, the anger between them making sparks in the crisp air. The wind whistled dynamically, furthering the drama of this timeless scene: the classic showdown.  
  
         {WEEOOO! WEEOOO!} A squad car made the scene just as Chichi stepped forward, impossibly moving up a 45-degree slope on the hill. Making corny, puttering sounds, it pulled up to the side of the duo, about a foot from Arale’s foot. Clown-car style, four police officers poured out of the vehicle, all with comically grim expressions. “Cease and desist immediately!” Taro called out, whipping out a standard issue pistol and holding it out at the duo.  
  
         Arale made a surprised expression. “Taro?” she said.  
  
         The pretty-faced bad boy didn’t respond to her inquiry, instead playing it by the book. “This is a no-fight zone!” he explained harshly, keeping his finger firmly on the trigger. “You two are viable under Penguin Village law!”  
  
         The foursome gaped dumbly at the man’s words. Then, they all looked over to the side, where a yellow and black caution sign was sticking up out of the ground, showing a crossed-out Super Saiyan powering up.  
  
         “So anyway, if you two wanted to mix it up, you’ll have to find a different place for it,” Taro said nonchalantly, stylishly twirling his shooter before swiftly placing it back in the holster. “I’ll take my leave now,” Ever the professional, he swift turned about face and began to pile back into the vehicle with the other officers. Despite this, though, he couldn’t help a broad smile coming to his face, the very picture of department corruption. “Man, I love this job.”  
  
         After the smoke had cleared from the departing police car, Chichi moved up to the other girl. “Well that’s jes’ fine!” she yelled out, pointing her finger at Arale’s chest. “I’ll meetcha and beatcha two days from now!”  
  
         “Chichi?” Goku said, starting to feel really confused.  
  
         “We’ll fight at the place I choose!” she continued, ignoring the monkey boy in favor of the robot girl. Wriggling off her right hand glove, Chchi grasped it by the empty fingers and slapped Arale in the face with it. “BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!” she shrilled at the top of her lungs.  
  
         And finally, Chichi stormed off, down the softer slope of the hill and back towards the town. Obotchaman watched her go, then turned back towards Arale. His eyes held a quiet sadness as he gazed upon his true love, as if he wanted to burn the image into his mind forever. Then he turned to follow his partner in crime on down the hill, disappearing along with her behind an assortment of palm trees.  
  
         Goku and Arale stared open mouthed at their distant friends…perhaps former friends, the way things were looking. The night was deceptively quiet, a wave of silence to cover up the dramatic happenings of seconds ago. “Well, fighting’s always fun,” the boy said blankly, blinking his eyes a few times.  
  
         And below, the last light of the festival fizzled out, a firm reminder that the party, at last, was over.  
  
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         Chichi stomped angrily down the sidewalk, her drive fueled by a stubborn ire entirely her own. Her cape fell across her like a flaming shadow of saffron flowers, making her silhouette strikingly imposing. The few villagers still out wasted no time in crossing to the other side of the street, or hiding in trashcans, or climbing up to the top of street-lamps. Perhaps it was best that they did; in this state, she could paralyze a stampeding steer with merely a look.  
  
         The girl tossed an impatient look behind at her companion. “Hurry up, Obotchaman,” she insisted, quickly turning around.  
  
         He lowered his head. “I’m sorry, I cannot,” he said quietly, his eyes concealed by the reflection of the street lamps against his glasses.  
  
         Chichi halted in her wrathful rampage and turned completely around. “Whatcha talkin’ about?” she asked, her eyebrow twitching up in an amalgam of confusion and suspicion.  
  
         Obotchaman hesitated for a moment, flinching, but soon regained his nerve. “Forgive me, Miss Chichi, but I must cease my actions in this affair from here-on-forth,” he told her, making a small bowing motion towards her.  
  
         She gaped in betrayal. “Hey, y’said we were in this togetha’!” Chichi protested, clenching her fists in frustration.  
  
         “This was before you decided on hurting Miss Arale,” the boy said, lifting his head and giving Chichi the first look at his fierce eyes. “I cannot participate in action against my love.” He averted his gaze to study the ground, and his voice softened. “Not even if it were to make her mine.”  
  
         Chichi stamped her foot in childish frustration. “Well, ain’t that jes’ dandy!” she hollered at him, her voice shockingly hurt. “Fine, I don’t needja! I don’t need anybody! I’ll do it all myself!” And she took off around the corner, skidding like a racecar down a hairpin turn. Running down the sidewalk nearly in tears, she soon disappeared behind a building. Eventually, the boy could only hear a pitter patter of footfalls.  
  
         Obotchaman watched the girl go quietly, a sad look in his eyes. “Miss Chichi…” he muttered, the light gleaming off his glasses in almost an anointing effect.  
  
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         But Obotchaman wasn’t the only one observing the young princess at this moment. A little ways off in a hidden chamber, a monitor recorded her every movement, her every action. And the one watching this monitor was very pleased by the ongoing antics of this foolish foursome. Very pleased indeed.  
  
         “Excellent, excellent,” the mystery man snickered, readjusting his smiley facemask. “Everything’s going according to plan.” Like a cliched evil villain, he paced back and forth within view of the monitor, keeping his eyes trained on it. Finally, he stooped in front of it again, putting his arms behind him.  
  
         “These violent kids are just the ticket,” he said, and one could almost see the evil smile hiding behind his painted, jovial one. “They’re going to make me all powerful!”  
  
         As he cackled menacingly, a small, red light in the corner of the chamber began blinking rapidly. This light was connected to a mysterious, monstrous machine, almost completely blackened by the lack of light inside. One thing could be ascertained from a brief look around, this “thing” was taking up most of the chamber, with only a scant amount of room left for its occupant. All that could be heard was the incessant beeping of the machine, as the little light blinked faster and faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes: How’s everything going so far? Does everything make sense? Did I totally demonize Chichi and give her the Akane Tendo treatment? Whatever I did, I still hope you enjoyed this fanfic so far.
> 
> Additional Disclaimer(s): As far as I’m aware of, Barbara Cartland never wrote a book with the title of “Lord Sin.” However, that could change…
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> OMAKE #2: Dr. Slump Terminology
> 
> -
> 
> Poo-Poking: This is exactly what it sounds like. You take a short, pointy stick and poke at a pile of poo lying on the ground, hoping for results. Alternatingly, you can take some poo on a stick and carry it around, offering it to anyone (Whomever) you can get a reaction out of. It is interesting to note that most of the poo piles in Penguin Village can talk, and some have very distinct personalities.
> 
> Robobitan A: Somewhat like a sports drink, this is the fuel Arale needs in order to keep running. If she goes too long without drinking Robobitan A, she freezes up.
> 
> Pinpon-Go: This is Senbei's flying machine, which he uses in order to either get around or fight a giant monster, when he wants to impress someone. It carries a wide variety of artillery, including everything from standard blasters to spiked mines.
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> Teaser: The paths have been chosen! The chips have been placed! The destiny of all four of our intrepid youngsters will be decided here, amidst the fires of battle! But what parts will they play as the mystery man makes his move?
> 
> It’s Arale vs. Chichi, in the final episode of "From Penguin Village with Love!"
> 
> Until next time, Ja ne! ^_^


	4. We Got Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arale and Chi-Chi take to the ring for Goku, but a mysterious stranger watches them from close by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Dr. Slump is the property of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies, as well as all characters within. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.
> 
> Legend:  
> ( ) Denotes thoughts.  
> { } Denotes sound effects.

**From Penguin Village with Love**  
  
 **By Reid M. Haynes**  
  
  
  
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 **Tale 4: We Got Power**  
  
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         A silent and irrepressible heat streamed effortlessly though a clear sky, bearing down on the streets of Penguin Village like a giant's toaster oven. The asphalt sparkled mystically as it slowly cooked everything on it, and the palm trees swayed softly with the slight wind rustling through the large leaves. Not a one, whether it be human, android, or alien, could be seen traversing the roads, even though it was a typically busy time of the day. It was like a desert battleground; slow, hot, and with a foreboding sense of danger permeating every speck of dirt.  
  
         Such as it was in the Coffee Pot.  
  
         Kimidori Aoi tended to the collection of mugs and canisters that lined the shelves of the small shoppe, going on tiptoe to reach the higher levels. As she gathered a mess of dishes into her hands, she turned her head back to examine the tables and chairs in the dining area. No one was here either; plates and napkins placed in a manner akin to a Thanksgiving meal were left by their lonesome, all the love put into their arrangement wasted. And from the clean floors and spotless tablecloths, it was clear nobody had stopped to eat here since a night before.  
  
         The young woman sighed and looked over to the grill, where a lone serving of scattered hash browns cooled off in the air-conditioned Coffee Pot. She had cooked the meal in hopes that the customer that ordered it every morning would find it hot and ready for him as he arrived. But he was a no show; like everyone else, he had other plans then breakfast or brunch.  
  
         It couldn't be helped really. Considering what was happening right now.  
  
         Aoi picked up a small spatula on her right and began to scoop the hash browns onto a suitable plate, leaving not a shred of it on the grill. Munching periodically on it with her fingers, she moved over to a cabinet that carried the extra dishes, opening it up with her free hand. She searched past the cutlery and glasses, moving carefully to avoid having her arm clipped by their potentially dangerous edges. Finding a notch on the side of its wooden innards, she pressed down upon it like a button, quickly retracting her hand afterwards and stepping back.  
  
         With a soft mechanical noise, the cabinet slowly and automatically moved to the side, revealing a hidden doorway. With a thoughtful expression, Aoi proceeded through this new path and down a flight of stone stairs that led to a place deeply hidden. As there was no railing, her footsteps were light and careful, slowly carrying her towards a distant light at the end. It was another doorway, as small as the first, yet somehow more ominous.  
  
         Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the woman shielded her eyes from the intense light coming from the opening. Aoi could hear loud chatterings coming from beyond the doorway, and shadows danced franticly along the walls of the tunnel. Her nerves were already wracked from the sound and stimuli, but she quickly gathered her nerve to make the final plunge. Taking a final bite of her hash browns, she took a deep breath and proceeded through the doorway...and into a locale of complete chaos.  
  
         Beyond the small doorway, alive with the splendor of a hundred lights, was a giant, underground stadium, packed with a thousand spectators. Complete with snack bars, souvenir stands, and a booth where you could take a picture with a digitally placed version of the competitors, it was enough to completely shame the modest arena that the Tenka'ichi Budokai was held in. Speaking of which, the plan for the actual fighting grounds was basically the same as the fabled tournaments: large, square blocks placed into a grid. With earthen stalactites hanging overhead and a few palms dotting the area between the arena and spectator signs, it was a place both suited to and completely foreign to everyday Penguin Villagers.  
  
         "Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for action?" a booming voice called from the announcer's box. "Are you ready for excitement? Are you ready to see little girls beat the snot out of each other? Well then, you're in the right place, for this is the Penguin Village 'Fight for Love' Super Battle!" A large roar erupted from within the crowd, as they started practically foaming at the mouth for some action.  
  
         The Tenka'ichi Budokai announcer straightened his tie in a dignified manner, though there was no one to observe or critique him. Yes, Penguin Village had managed to secure his services for this special one-time event. Truth be told, he was having second thoughts about choosing to take this job; the people here were some of the strangest he had ever met. It was true the Budokai's attracted some odd sorts, like monsters, monks, and prepubescent martial artists, but at least they didn't run around with poo on a stick for fun.  
  
         Like the professional he was, he continued nonetheless. "We have a great fight for you today, folks!" the TBA continued with much gusto, trying to put as much enthusiasm into his speech as possible. "Two very strong competitors have agreed to meet in the ring this one time for the ultimate grudge match. They're not fighting for money, they're not fighting for glory. They're fighting for looooove!"  
  
         He ignored the second squeal that rippled through the crowd, opting instead to continue his monologue. "In this corner, weighing in at around 92 lbs, is a newcomer to Penguin Village. A princess in her own right, she fights to secure her fiancée and protect him from all other competition. Say hello to Gyu-Mao's daughter, Chichi!"  
  
          A polite show of hands played as a fanfare to the first competitor's entrance, modest yet not entirely fulfilling the demands of a crowd. As the clapping died down, a spotlight shone to the left of the stage, illuminating the silhouette of a small girl, dressed in an odd outfit. A casual audience member sitting in the nosebleed section might mistake her for a Halloweener, or a cosplayer. But if you were lucky enough to get good seats, you could clearly see from her harsh demeanor her that she was dead serious about her choice of outfit, with her rival adding the "dead" part.  
  
         The princess' pixie-like features were taut with tension, though not in a way that would make her ugly. Eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed, she was in a state of intense concentration, one that even the raucous audience could not disturb. One could almost see the furious stream of memories flowing around her; truly, it did seem like her spirit was stoking a bright flame around her. That supposed flame burned with an intense love for her betrothed, and with a fiery determination...  
  
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         {WHAM!!!} The image of a gleeful girl was smushed in by a respectively large fist, its knuckles completely concealing her face. That fist has scarcely been pulled away before another blow bore into it, squishing and distorting her face even further. {WOP!} An ongoing flurry of punches made their way towards their target, joined by the occasional high kick. {WMP!}{WMP!}{WMP!} It was an elbow jab that had finished up the heated combo, and the "comboer", so to speak, only rested for a moment before resuming her assault on the object of her ire.  
  
         Chichi sweated and panted as she pounded away on the image of Norimaki Arale posted to her punching bag. No one was quite sure where she had got the photo; perhaps she had nicked it from the family that had put her up for the night. It was clear to everyone that the purple-haired girl was going to be the favorite in the oncoming fight that had been set up for the both of them. Her rival was like a celebrity in this place, and she was constantly surrounded by friends and family that gave their undying support to her.  
  
         The girl grimaced loudly, throwing more force into her blows. She didn't need any of that, though. Chichi was a princess, a born fighter trained by the strongest man in the land: her own father. She would even the score and retrieve her love, even if there was no one to cheer her victory.  
  
         "Miss Chichi." A voice broke through her intense concentration, causing to break momentum. She ceased her attack to stare at the arrival, her eyes widening in surprise. Obotchaman was standing in the open doorway, holding a small water bottle in his grip. "Obotchaman, what're you doin' here?" she asked, her tone not angry, just curious.  
  
         The small boy's eyes were unblinking, but had a certain amount of sadness within them. "I wanted to see how you were faring," he stated, slowing walking up to Chichi and presenting her with the bottle. "I haven't seen you ever since this whole fisticuffs affair began."  
  
         "I'm jes' fine," she responded without much conviction, taking the bottle from him listlessly. "Thanks for askin'." She brought the nozzle to her lips, squeezing lightly until the fluid made its way into her parched mouth. Then, she spat the liquid out in a sputtering stream, splattering Obotchaman with a complete mouthful. "WHAT IS THAT STUFF?!" she hollered out at him, coughing as if she spent a minute under the ocean chugging salt water.  
  
         "Oh, sorry," Obotchaman apologized nervously, putting a hand on the back of her head. "I suppose you don't drink Robobitan A, do you?"  
  
         "Obotchamaaaan..." she growled petulantly, giving the boy a glare that could melt iron. He laughed nervously.  
  
         Chichi harrumphed, and sauntered away from him to the other side of the rooms. She grabbed a towel sitting on a chair and began to wipe off the sweat that drenched her entire body. Rubbing the cottony wool over her head caused some large drops of perspiration to fall from her hair and land on the ground with a unceremonious {PLAP!} She might as well have been a sprinkler system from the way she was soaking the floor where she stood.  
  
         "I believe I have figured out why we were so unsuccessful in attempting to deter Miss Arale and Sir Goku," Obotchaman said after a moment, a slight note of trepidation in his tone.  
  
         The girl stopped drying off for a moment and turned to look at him. "What do ya mean?" she asked, letting the towel hang on her shoulders as if she was a human rack.  
  
         He closed his heads, and hung his head in contemplation. "It is because their souls have already bonded with each other," he told her quietly, not looking up from his floor-bound gaze. "It is true that neither of them are likely the type to develop deep, romantic connections with the opposite sex so readily. Yet their attraction was a spark developing from the moment they first met that day the Red Ribbon had shown up in our peaceful island village. It is a development that even I have never been able to produce myself with my own love, so I find myself blown away by their companionship."  
  
         "There are few people like Miss Arale and Sir Goku, and it is rare when Fate allows them to unify," he continued, opening his eyes and staring at Chichi seriously though his round spectacles. "Though they are almost shockingly similar, they have managed to bring out new traits of their respective personalities. This is a feat I've always wished to pull off together with Miss Arale, and yet...Sir Goku has managed it without any effort at all. I have come to believe...that such a potential love should not be stifled, even by us."  
  
         For a brief moment, Chichi looked stunned by Obotchaman's speech, even widening her eyes in response to the cuttingly honest words. But soon, her expression hardened in stubbornness, and she clenched her fists. "N-no way!" she yelled, her hair flaring around her face at she pointed at the boy. "You might be willin' t’ give up, but I ain't gonna let my Goku go to that...that...other woman!"  
  
         Having over-exhausted herself from emotion and exercise, she turned away from the boy for a moment, her expression becoming less sour. "Before I met Goku, I spent every day pinin' for my fairy tale prince to come sweep me off ma feet," she said quietly, her tone wistful. "Then, Goku showed up on his flying cloud, and I jes' knew he was gonna be the one." She whirled back towards Obotchaman, her eyes vibrant and shining. "He promised me marriage!" she cried out desperately to him, trying to make him understand. "Even if it was a lie, couldja forget about that, Obotchaman?"  
  
         The boy looked even more shocked that Chichi did, when their roles had been reversed. He then sadly lowered his head, and began to slowly walk out of the room. He had one foot out the door when he turned back towards the girl, a serious expression on his face. "God speed, Miss Chichi," he told her softly, his hand resting on the doorframe, as if it was the last thing holding him to her side.  
  
         After Obotchaman left, Chichi let out a loud breath of air, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She shook her head a few times, and slapped her own cheeks to help wake her up. (C'mon, Chichi,) she told herself, staring fiercely at nothing in particular. (You got a battle t' win!)  
  
         With her mind more focused now, she turned her eye towards a helmet sitting on a chair in the back. The large, heavy headgear was vaguely Roman in attributes, with a sharp blade in place of the traditional comb. The small, crystal eye in the forehead shone in the lighting of the room. It was her partner in all things, and it would serve her well in the upcoming fight.  
  
         (This is it!)  
  
         Chichi grasped the helmet in her two hands, regarding it with determination. Then, she placed it upon her head, the light reflecting off the blade with a glaring sparkle. {KSHWING!!!}  
  
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         The roar of the stadium was a deafening rush as Chichi as she strode in full Valkarie getup to the raised battle platform. Stepping up to center stage, she stood stoically against the throngs of stadium goers, ignoring them like one might ignore a buzzing fly. Instead, her eyes tore through the blaring lights towards the other fighter's entrance, staring at it almost anxiously. Truly, the person waiting in the darkness was a force to be reckoned, if the stories she had heard from the villagers were true.  
  
          "Looks like we have a real fighter here, folks!" the TBA was saying, trying his best to play up Chichi's entrance. It must've worked, too, for the intensity of the crowd picked up just the slightest bit. A few of the more adventurous folks were already starting to place bets on Chichi, in hopes for a dramatic upset. Most strayed away from doing this, however, confident in the abilities of the hometown favorite.  
  
         The TBA scanned the premises from his booth, before focusing on the other side of the arena. "Oh, here comes our other contestant now!" he cried out hurryingly, before the moment passed. "In this corner, weighing in at 98 lbs, is a face I'm sure you'll all know! She's three feet tall and likes poking at poo. Give a warm round of applause to Penguin Village's favorite daughter, Norimaki Arale!"  
  
         This time, the reaction from the crowd was much more profound than when Chichi had made her entrance. The people hooted and hollered for the presence of their heroine, and some of them held up large banners with the girl's smiling mug on them. It was enough to bring a small frown to Chichi's face, as she mumbled something under her breath.  
  
         On the other side of the arena, a small figure could be seen making its way from the entrance to the center stage. It was a small, purple-haired girl, with a countenance that was making the adjustment from cheery to serious. She, too, was dressed in a new outfit, which couldn't quite be made out from the distance. The light reflected off her glasses eerily, and nobody could tell what she was thinking.  
  
         But she was thinking...  
  
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         "Are you sure you're ready for this, Arale-chan?" the woman said as she sorted out some clothes on the easy chair rocking next to the wall.  
  
         "Yup!" a much more chipper voice responded from behind the curtain, not under confident in the slightest. "This is gonna be lots of fun, Sensei Midori!"  
  
         In the relative safety of the Norimaki home, Midori made some last minute preparation for Arale's big fight. To her right were a collection of sewing utilities and pins, and to her left was a large collection of colored cloths with varying weights and textures. Her hands were bandaged up from a number of small nicks and cuts due to her hard work. It was obvious that she was a perfectionist about whatever she was doing the hour before.  
  
         The woman turned her head seriously towards the feminine robot. "Arale-chan, I don't think you understand the consequences of this battle," she stated, bending down slightly to stare her in the face.  
  
         "Hoyo?" the girl responded blanking, nicely proving the point made.  
  
         Midori sighed softly, straightening looking out the window towards the general direction of the sea. "Chichi-chan has the competition all set up," she explained, a certain heaviness to her voice. "If you lose, she will take your precious Go-kun away, and you won't be able to see him anymore."  
  
         At this, the smile vanished completely from Arale's face, as she made a small concerned "o" with her lips. She looked down and to the side for a moment, obvious mulling over something. Soon, though, she raised her head once again, a brand new smile on her face. "Then I'll hafta win!" she declared, standing up to her full height and clenching her fists with gusto.  
  
         The woman smiled. "You always were so irrepressible," she told her, electing a small series of chuckles from the girl. "Here, I have something for you!"  
  
         Arale craned her head curiously as Midori grabbed a small bundle from the ironing board. It was lightweight and light blue, with a black sash and a pair of kung-fu slippers on top. "After I mended Goku's uniform, I figured I knew enough about the design to sew another," she said, a blush of pride coming to her cheeks. "So I made a second one just for you!"  
  
         "Wow!" Arale cried out, running quickly to the woman's side. "Coooool!" Quickly snatching the uniform away, she appraised the outfit excitedly, running her hand over the yielding, yet durable cloth. "Great, Mom!" she said happily, cradling the outfit in her arms lightly. "I'm gonna change now, 'kay?"  
  
         As she eagerly ran off to the bathroom to exchange one outfit for another, Midori stood silently among the folding clothes, her hands still stretched out. Her eyes twinkled with some unknown emotion, and a few droplets made their way to the corners. Slowly, a shaky, wobbly smile came to her lips. "She called me 'Mom!'" she said with a sniffle, putting a hand to her eyes to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down her face.  
  
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         The girl opened her eyes to the scramble of the crowd, looking more like an array of multi-colored specks than actual people. They fizzled like cola in the stadium stadiums, many of them piping up with the chant of her name. She looked a bit bewildered by all of this, the lights and sounds more intimidating than exhilarating. Then, slowly, she began walking up the long path towards the center battlefield, where Chichi awaited her with a tough expression on her face.  
  
         Arale's clothes were indeed designed after Goku's usual martial arts uniform, albeit with a few artistic changes. For one, it was a light blue uniform, and there was an "A" in place of the Turtle symbols on the front and back. The girl had also done her hair up in twin ponytails which dangled on the side of her head, and she had left her trademarked winged cap behind. It was the perfect look for pint-sized female martial artists; though her forte was wrestling, she was sure she could manage.  
  
         With renewed cheer, she strode down the long walk, waving back and forth at the supportive crowd. By looking carefully, she could spot a few familiar faces in the stands, giving their support.  
  
         "Go for it, Arale!" Senbei called out loudly, his mouth stretching out to reveal his molars. "Show them what my number #1 creation can do!"  
  
         She smiled up at him. "Got it, Hakase!" she affirmed, throwing him the peace sign.  
  
         With a spring in her step, Arale bounced up to the center platform, stopping around five meters in front of Chichi. There, she waited happily, rocking back and forth in a somewhat impatient manner. The other girl growled in a somewhat exaggerated manner, trying her best to stare down her opponent. But the robot girl just tilted her head in a confused manner, trying to consider what she was so angry about.  
  
         "Okay, here are the rules," the TBA's voice bellowed from the loud speakers set up all throughout the stadium. "No eye gouging, no hair pulling, no hitting the vulnerables. When the count starts, back away from your opponent until I give the okay. Weapons are allowed. That is all."  
  
         "Now, then," the announcer continued, his voice tapering off for a moment. "Match, BEGIN!"  
  
         The two fighters pulled into roughed fighting stances, each gauging the expertise of the other. Chichi's stance was solid and strong, leaving no obvious holes in her defense. Arale simply mimicked what she had seen on the martial arts channel, adding a typical 'Bruce Lee' facial expression to the mix. If this was any indication of their abilities, it was clear that the foreigner had the advantage in skill, if not strength.  
  
         "Do it to it, Arale-chan!" a boy-ish voice cried from the stands. Arale smiled up towards the voice, where Goku, back in his own uniform, was cheerfully waving at her. "Hi, Go-kun!" she hollered, waving back. "Hi! Hi! Hiiiii!"  
  
         {BOOT!} and was subsequently knocked a good one in the head for her inattentiveness. Arale went flying in the direction of Chichi's kick, coming to a rough roll on the ground before finally stopping a good distance away from the other girl. She looked up with a somewhat startled expression, her glasses almost falling off her nose. "Hoyo, we're fighting already?" she asked, straightening the spectacles with her right hand.  
  
         "Betta' get ready!" the other girl responded, putting her dukes up. "I'm gonna getcha!"  
  
         And with a {WHOOSH!}, Chichi dashed forward in a rushing punch. Startled, Arale just managed to nip out of the way of the attack, popping back just a few feet away from her opponent. The other girl wasn't deterred, however, and threw a spinning roundhouse that threatened to alleviate her irritating concern. But again, Arale avoided this, jumping back into a somersault nearly halfway across the arena.  
  
         She landed on the ground somewhat roughly, squatting sort of like a monkey. "Hey, you're being just like the kung-fu guys on TV!" she pointed out happily, raising a finger up in realization.  
  
         "Shush!" Chichi retorted, putting her fingers to the jewel in the center of her helmet. Arale looked surprised at this, and was obviously even more surprised with a glowing laser beam bolted from the gem straight. {BIIIIIIIIIIIIII…!} "Whoops!" she cried out, as she danced away from a danger that seemed to follow her everywhere. Soon, she was running all over the place as the laser trailed along the ground, leaving a scorched path everywhere it touched.  
  
         As Arale tore around the arena trying to escape from Chichi's attack, the TBA sprang into action, pulling the microphone up close. "And Chichi's getting off to a fine start!" he told the audience, spittle flying from his mouth and causing the microphone to emit some annoying feedback. "It looks like Arale has no idea what's happening! Though perhaps that has nothing to do with Chichi..."  
  
         Contrary to the very precarious situation she was in, Arale was far from the distressed damsel. Rather, she laughed and smiled like she was chasing after a swarm of butterflies, rather than being chased by a screaming death ray. "Wheeee, this is fun!" she said, her heels one step away from the laser. "Let’s do it again tomorrow!"  
  
         "Oooooh, you...!" Chichi fumed, her face turning red with frustration. Turning off her laser, she sought instead for a more direct approach, and rushed after her to bludgeon her with flying fists. {VOOKA!VOOKA!} Arale giggled hyperactively as she avoided each blow within a hairsbreath from contact. The attacks were as ineffectual as shadowboxing, merely cutting the air and nothing more.  
  
         "Huff, puff," Chichi gasped, worn out from her heated assault. Then she blinked and looked around, discovering just then that the robot girl was nowhere in her field of vision. Where could she have gone off to?  
  
         "Gee, that's a pretty funny hat!" Chichi started at this voice, and whirred around franticly. Arale was now just to her side, poking at her helmet with a stick. "I wonder if it'll do the 'biiiiiiii' thing again I poke it enough," she was saying cheerfully, prodding the headgear over and over. "Pokity-poke-poke."  
  
         "Danggit!" Chichi wailed, swinging her fists like a threshing mill. "Take me seriously!" She started hurling an impressive amount of punches towards the android girl, ready to thrash her into Arale-Sausage. {VOOP!}{VOOP!}{VOOP!} Arale dodged them cheerily enough, seeming to be everywhere at once. This only furthered the Ox Princess's desire to smash the girl into the ground, and her attacks doubled in intensity.  
  
         The assault continued, and Arale was starting to have some difficulty in avoiding Chichi's iron knuckles. {SHP!} a blow nearly grazed her cheek, causing her to lean back in surprise. She retreated into a backwards somersault that gave her a small berth from the other female fighter. {WRRRR…!}"That's rough!" she stated, staring wide-eyed at her opponent.  
  
         Chichi smiled, an easy win seemingly near. "There's no escape!" she said, reaching up to the top of her helmet, where the curved blade sat at the ready. With a small grunt, she hurled the weapon with all her might, sending it {CHOK!CHOK!CHOK!} towards Arale's forehead. "I gotcha!" she cried, her grin expectant and exuberant.  
  
         {PINK!}  
  
         Chichi's facade of victory soon turned into a look of utter dismay, and the crowd gasped with shock. With one unscathed hand, Arale had caught the blade in midair, holding it just an inch from her nose. {GRRRNnnnk…!} Everyone watched in shock as she slowly crumpled the metal into a crumbled ball, like it was a piece of notebook paper. Then, with eyes concealed by violet bangs, she let it drop with a {CLANK!} on the arena floor, in a manner not unlike someone dropping that notebook paper ball.  
  
         "I letcha have your fun, because I thought it was fun," she said in perhaps the softest tone anyone had ever heard from her. "But we're fightin' for Go-kun, right? People say you're gonna make him go bye-cha." And Arale raised her eye, her eyes hard and determined. "You can't do that!"  
  
         In a rush of insurmountable agility, the robot rushed headlong at her opponent, her elbow cocked and ready for a titanic punch. {VMMM!} Chichi almost completely panicked, turning into a true, little girl at this threat. "S-stay back!" she warned unsteadily, her fingers flying again to her helmet's jewel for another laser blast.  
  
         But Arale had different ideas. {CRUNCH!} Her fist impacted against the gem, shattering it into absolute dust and sending Chichi flying backwards almost six meters. The befallen girl struggled to retain her battle stance, her expression wild like a tiger’s. "W-wanna go fer it?!" she cried, trying to bring out some reserves of angry strength.  
  
         "HAAAIIIII!" Arale roared, rushing forward to meet her opponent’s demands.  
  
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         "Heh heh," a dark figure rumbled, rubbing his hands together like sandpaper. "Soon..."  
  
         A red light blinked continuously, and a piercing, beeping noise echoed throughout the chamber.  
  
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         Arale rushed towards her opponent with a flying, spinning kick, cutting the air like soggy butter. {SWWK!} Chichi edged away from the attack just in time, and whirled around with a back fist aimed for the other's cheek. {WOK!} Arale wasn't caught unaware, and raised her arm to deflect the blow, moving low for a sweep kick aimed for the shins.{SHOOP!} To avoid this, Chichi fell backwards into a series of handsprings that carried her away from her opponent, though the robot girl was hot on her heels.  
  
         The battle was now truly underway, with both opponents putting everything they had into the fight. The crowd was oohing and ahhing, equally impressed with both competitors. Despite her soft appearance, Chichi was built like a rock, and Arale had to push herself for the first time in order to win a fight. And push she did, harder than a construction worker on end-of-the-month payday.  
  
         Chichi landed on her feet deftly and looked up in shock to find Arale bearing down on her once more. Falling down towards her opponent, the android took the travel time to gather her strength, and then proceeded to rain down a flurry of punches towards Chichi's face. {BFF!}{BFF!}{BFF!} Chichi put up her arms to shield herself from the nonstop barrage, instinctually turning her face from the force of the impacts. But Arale kept firing away mercilessly with her fists, a robotic fighting machine born from the heated moment.  
  
         Chichi's fighter instinct saw an opening for a brief moment, and she quickly seized it. Grabbing onto Arale's wrists, she clenched tightly, electing a brief "Hoyo?" from her. Before the robot girl knew what was happening, Chichi was spinning her like an Olympic hammer, around and around until they became a single blur. {VWM!}{VWM!}{VWM!} She had made five complete revolutions before she finally let go, sending the other girl flying away at a high speed and, hopefully, towards the "ring out" area.  
  
         But Chichi made a small mistake in calculating the trajectory of the girl's travel. Her bullet-like flight carried her but a foot from the arena floor, and all she had to do was put a palm down to slow her momentum. {shnnnnnn…!} the resulting friction stopped her right at the edge of the ring, and with a round off, she was back on her feet once again. She crouched for a moment, smiling confidently, and in a rush bolted back towards the center of the ring, beginning the melee once again.  
  
         "I can't believe my eyes, folks!" the TBA screamed out at the microphone, the energy genuine this time. "We have here a Grade A battle on our hands! The sheer chi exploding throughout the arena is astronomical! I haven't seen this much action since the last Tenka'ichi Budokai, which as you all know was Son Goku vs. Jackie Chun!"  
  
         In the stands, the boy just mentioned blinked in astonishment at the violent confrontation raging below. "Golly!" Goku said, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't know Chichi was so tough...!”  
  
         "Well, duh!" Akane said from beside him, giving him a dull expression. "She's fighting for true romance! That's gotta give you some stoppin' power!"  
  
         "Huh." He took a large bite of his hotdog, chewing it in loud smacks. "I wonder if a good meal would make her feel better?" he contemplated, large bits of mashed up pork flying from his open mouth.  
  
         The older girl looked at him like he was some sort of joke. "You and Arale really are perfect for each other, you know that?" she drolled, wiping off some of the excess hotdog crud that had landed on her tank top.  
  
         "Hush, hush!" Tsuku snapped out at them, pointing out towards the two competitors. "Fight heating up!"  
  
         The three of them all turned back around to watch the ongoing drama in the ring. Arale and Chichi were swinging away at each other with all their might, fists and feet flailing out at an incredible pace. {BWOK!} {BWOK!} Blocks and counters flashed by like a dance recital sped up, as each fighter struggling to execute their best move. Indeed, there was no clear winner in sight.  
  
         {PMP!} Arale threw a left-handed jab straight for Chichi's face. She blocked it, and threw a rough hook at Arale's chin. {FFP!} The girl ducked this attack, and followed through with an uppercut aimed at the jaw. {FOOP!} Chichi flinched away from it and {BWAAA!} shot her leg out in a fierce kick towards Arale's midsection, which only scarcely missed.  
  
         The android girl did her best to pummel though her opponent's assault with a rapid flurry of kicks aimed towards her opponent's chest. {VIZ!}{VIZ!} But Chichi managed to avoid them all, and returned fire with a wave of punches to the face. {BSH!} {BSH!} Arale struggled to bat away the barrage of punches, and was shocked to find that her rival had once again grabbed hold of her arm. Working with this the best she could, she clutched at the girl's fists, and soon the two of them were grappling at arms length in a classic power struggle. {GNNNnnn…!}  
  
         "Hoyo-yo," Arale wheezed out, a bright smile on her face. "You're strong!"  
  
         "Strongest girl this side of Frypan Mountain, doncha know!" Chichi fired back, a devil-may-care grin on her face.  
  
         The robot's grin only widened at this comment, as she seemed to enjoy this twisted camaraderie. "I won't lose, ya know!" she said, tightening her grip on Chichi's fingers. "Hakase said I was fightin' for true love!"  
  
         "Well, let me tell ya somethin'," Chichi ripped out, her smile now more grim then grin. "So am I!"  
  
         And she suddenly let go of the android girl's hands, causing her to lose balance and topple onto her chest. Chichi then pushed Arale away, who stumbled backwards in complete disorientation. She did her best to regain balance, trying to fall back into a fighting stance. But it was too little too late, and Arale found herself the precipitant of a harsh blow to the side of her face, spinning her head around like a teacup carnival ride. {WHAM!!!}  
  
         "Whoa, that's twisted!" the TBA called out, almost horror-stricken.  
  
         Arale's head continued to spin wildly, a sickeningly dizzy motion that was put to a stop by a left jab from Chichi fist. {KA-BAMM!} The Valkarie quickly followed through with {BAP!} a second punch to the cheek, making the victim spit out a streamer to saliva that impacted on the arena floor beside them. Arale was left completely helpless to a ruthless onslaught that targeted her face, sides, and stomach. {BAP!} {DMP!} {WAK!} It was a final uppercut that had knocked her completely off her feet and face first into the ground, mumbling nonsense and gibberish. "Hakase, please give me big breasts like the girls in your magazines..."  
  
         "Oh my!" Obotchaman gasped from his place in the stands, looking a bit queasy at the punishment that his love was taking. "It seems as though Miss Chichi might win." He squinted his eyes to make out the prone figure of Arale, who was trying desperately to return to her feet. "Though I'm wondering if that's truly a good thing," he continued with a sigh, shaking his head at the savagery of it all. "Miss Arale, please hang in there..."  
  
         Arale, for her part, had managed to stand up before the count began, but her posture was weak and unbalanced. One just had to look at her eyes to see she was still dazed from Chichi's heavy attack; they were one step away from looking like little cinnamon swirls. Her opponent stood over her triumphantly, folding her arms in proud satisfaction. Then, that opponent started to move in, prepping herself to execute the finishing blow.  
  
         "It's nighty-night for you, home wrecker!" Chichi declared, pulling back her fist for a titanic blow.  
  
         "Ho...yo?" Arale burbled, almost completely out of it.  
  
         "Gah!" Akane warked, staring transfixed at the unfolding scene of impending doom. She then started shaking Goku violently, causing him to turn away from his hotdog for a moment. "Goku, do something!" she shouted in his ear, not caring that she was right next to him. "Or your girlfriend's going to be stew!"  
  
         "Wha..." the boy stammered, before finally waking up to reality of the situation. "Oh, right!" Reaching behind him, he pulled out Nyoibo from the sheath on his back, bringing it up behind him. "Arale-chan, catch!" he shouted out at her, tossing it in a perfect arc towards the center of the ring.  
  
         At the sound of Goku's voice, Arale suddenly jerked back to attention, her eyes becoming clear once again. "Oh...!" she chirped, turning up just in time to see the red pole twirling towards her. {WHOOKWHOOKWHOOK!} With quick reflexes, her hand snapped out to grab Nyoibo in midair with a loud {SNAP!} She then peered curiously at the strange object, wondering what in the world she was supposed to do with it.  
  
         "Arale-chan, say 'Nyoibo extend!'" Goku called from the stands, cupping his hands over his mouth so he would be heard. "It'll make the stick grow!"  
  
         "Okay, Go-kun!" Arale nodded out at her friend, smiling. "Thanks-cha!"  
  
         Chichi observed the exchange with tears in her eyes, a betrayed expression on her face. (Why is Goku helpin' her to beat me?) she wondered to herself, an unhappy frown forming on her face.  
  
         This turned out to be a double tragedy, as the girl was not looking where she was supposed to be. Arale had already pulled the staff up to bear, holding it like one might hold an automatic rifle. She aimed it straight at Chichi's gut, holding it steady. "Nyoyobo, extend!" she recited to the weapon, as if she was speaking to it, rather than calling out an incantation.  
  
         Well, it wasn't quite the correct phrase, but it worked nonetheless. Nyoibo flashed red, and then bolted out on a collision course with Chichi's stomach. {DUUM!} the pole caught her right in the bellybutton, pushing her right out of the arena along with it. It carried her flailing and screaming over the ring out area, only to slam her against the wall with a crushing {BWAK!!!}  
  
         "Can this be it?" the TBA pondered loudly, as if he could scarcely hold his breath. "It's it possible? Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a new grand champion. The winner, by ring out, is Norimaki Arale!"  
  
         A huge blast of applause appeared in from the stadium stands like a bomb detonation. They waved their hands and took off their shirts, twirling it above their heads as makeshift flags. Arale took in all in with a big smile, letting go of Nyoibo to put her hands on her hips. "Yay!" she cheered, tilting her head to the side. "I won!"  
  
         "Don't count yer chickens..." a scraggly voice moaned from outside the area. "...before they hatch!"  
  
         The people closest to where Nyoibo had impacted quieted down, being the closest to where this voice had originated. Slowly, the rest of the crowd hushed up as well, getting the feeling that something was happening. The dust from the shattered wall hadn't quite settled down, but a distinct shape could be seen through the haze. And when the grainy cloud had finally dispelled, everyone could clearly see Chichi hanging upside down from the pole like a chimp, two feet from touching the ground and still very much in the fight.  
  
         "Hmph," Goku snorted, folding his arms in mild irritation. "And they call me 'monkey-boy.'"  
  
         Chichi unsteadily turned herself upright on Nyoibo, standing up and balancing upon it like a tightrope. She began to quickly run along the length of the pole, keeping two arms outstretched to assist her poise. {TMP!}{TMP!} When she had reached the middle of the staff, she sprung off into the air, somersaulting like a skilled gymnast. {SHOOKASHOOKA!} With her cape trailing behind her like a fireball, she landed back on the arena floor in an elegant crouch, with blazing eyes and a fighting fervor equal to a champion.  
  
         "You're kinda stubborn," Arale stated, blinking her eyes rapidly.  
  
         Chichi tossed the hair out of her face like a fashion model, letting it flow back behind her. "I'm jes' a sweet, strong lil' girl!" she said somewhat-haughtily, peeking at the other through the corner of her eye. She them got back into her battle stance, fist outstretched. "Now we gonna end this!" she said, prepared to punch her opponent to kingdom come.  
  
         Arale stared blankly at her opponent, who seemed like she wanted to roast her simply with a boiling hot gaze. Then, the android girl slowly got back into her own fighting position, and got ready to throw down.  
  
         {RRRRRRRR...} A low, rumbling sound suddenly spasmed throughout the fighting area, bringing up a flare of dirt fleckles from the bare earth. The palm trees started shaking slightly, and some of their leaves began to fall off and drift off towards the ravaged ground. Then, one of the palms completely toppled over, unearthing and exposing spider-like roots that dangled uselessly in the ahir. And from where the tree had formerly gotten its nutrients was now a large mechanical drill, tearing up the dirt and making its way slowly upward.  
  
         "Hoyo?" Arale murmered, looking away from her rival to stare at this strange contraption.  
  
         "What on earth...?" Chichi muttered, completely forgetting about the battle as well.  
  
         {GYYYNNN!!!} The drill continued to make its way out from underground, weakening the earth further until it was nothing more then mushy sentiment. Soon a second drill joined the first, boring upwards approximately five meters from where the other drill was doing its business. Splitting rock into gravel, they both worked their hardest to bring whatever they towed to the surface...  
  
         ...and suddenly, a giant, mechanical crab bolted from the torn terra firma, flying up into the sky and falling back down with a resounding {CLANK!} Indeed, it was a giant, mechanical crab, with tiny little legs supporting its massive form, one blinking red eye, and the two drills serving as claws. The top of the beast bore a small hatch like a submarine, which was now starting to open up. And emerging from that hatch, splendid in all his dark glory, was...  
  
         "You!" Chichi gasped, taking a step back in shock. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
         "Hello again, little missy," the mystery man crooned, folding his arms inside his lab coat. "Fancy meeting you here. But then, your fancy has always been fancy, so long as it has worked to my need." One could almost feel the snickering smile behind his smiley facemask. "And it has worked well, very well indeed."  
  
         "What?" Obotchaman cried out, looking in shock at the arrival of his old friend from the beach. Stumbling out of his seat, he made his way down the stairs toward the center arena. In a brief moment, he had arrived at Arale and Chichi's side, moving in front of them as if to protect them. "What is this about?" he demanded, feeling the suspicion he should always have felt towards this untrustworthy stranger.  
  
         The ominous figure merely laughed at the boy's question, his shoulders shaking with dark mirth. "You two have been under my spell for some time," he explained with glee, spreading out his arms to encompass Chichi and Obotchaman. "Draining jealousy energy, marvelous jealousy energy, that is what the two devices on your back have been doing. You two are nothing more than batteries to power my latest machine!"  
  
         Chichi and Obotchaman stared slack-jawed at this declaration, finding it almost too strange to believe. Then, their hands went to their backs, frantically searching for any foreign object that might have been implanted there. Eyes widened as they felt the small devices pulsating on her back, like little termites boring into their skin. "I jes' can't believe it," Chichi said, feeling like she was about to become sick any moment.  
  
         Neither could the audience, apparently. "Jealously energy?" Akane scowled, one of her eyes twitching sporadically.  
  
         "It like plot of magical girl show!" Tsuku added in, his eyes wide with astonishment.  
  
         "Heh heh," the mystery man laughed, letting his arms rest lazily at his side for the moment. "I've been planning this scheme for some time, ever since that Goku boy left our Penguin Village. I could tell from her countenance that Arale had some developing some feelings for the little chimp. As soon as he returned, it was only a simple effort to track down the rivals for their affections. You two have been an excellent source of nourishment for my child."  
  
         "Stop it!" A loud voice suddenly pierced through the now quiet stadium, and the four of them; Arale, Chichi, Obotchaman, and the mystery man, turned towards the crowd. In a blur of orange and black, a figure tore through the air separating the stands and the arena, landing deftly and whipping out with a battle stance. "Why are you threatening my friends?!" Goku yelled out, shaking his fist violently.  
  
         "Because..." Here, the mystery man pulled on the string that kept the mask affixed to his face. "It's my destiny to destroy the Norimaki legacy!"  
  
         He removed the mask.  
  
         The crowd gasped.  
  
         "Father..." Obotchaman took in a deep breath, his eyes narrowing with intense dislike.  
  
         "That's right, my dear estranged son!" the shaggy haired man crowed out, raising his hands to the sky. "I, Dr. Marushito, will be the sole deliverer of death today! Bwahahahahah!" He broke out into full guffaws, clutching his stomach in an attempt to hold it all in.  
  
         Goku stared at the mad scientist’s for a moment longer before turning to the others. "Guys, who's this creep?" he asked, feeling like he was being left out of something.  
  
          "Dr. Marushito, my creator," Obotchaman said, his cherubic face suddenly like granite. "He is the rival of Arale's creator, and an enemy we have faced many times."  
  
         As if to confirm this, Senbei began hollering from the stands at the top of his lungs. "Marushito, you turd!" he screamed out, shaking his fist rapidly. "You mean this is just another dumbass plot to off Arale? Damnit, you’re supposed to be dead!"  
  
         "Shut the hell up, butt munch!" Dr. Marushito barked back, his expression just as unbalanced as the others. "You'll see I'm the greatest scientist in all Gengoro Island once I waste that four-eyed mistake you call your greatest invention!" With a fierce growl, he lowered himself back into the crab, and a moment later, the machine's loudspeaker turned on. "Now, Arale, feel the wrath of Magic Battle Crab SI!” his voice blared out as the crabs mechanical arms raised above its head, the drills shining gloriously in the spotlights. "The ‘SI’ stands for ‘Simply Irresistible!’"  
  
         Dr. Marushito's ultimate machine activated its drills, holding them upwards like the duel implements of death they were. It then started to slowly bear down on the android girl, hovering menacingly above her. {BRIIIIINN…!}  
  
         "Yeek!" Chichi squealed, quickly grabbing onto Goku's vest.  
  
         "Whoa..." Goku said, ignoring the girl's grip on his person.  
  
         "Hoyo!" Arale cheered, raising her hands above her head. "That's cool!"  
  
         As the android girl cheerfully stared into the face of death, it looked like this was going to be the end for her. Dispelling this notion, however, was a small black streak hurling itself towards the crab's steel frame. {BAM!}{BAM!} The figure hurled fist after fist into the metallic construct, causing loud clanks to echo throughout the stadium. Then finally, {BWONK!} it kicked out with two legs, sending the machine skidding backwards, and sending the figure flying back towards the rest of the group.  
  
         "Argh!" the mad scientist growled, his distaste heard even through the crappy speaker...or crabby speaker system, to be more appropriate. "You betray me again...?"  
  
         Goku stared at the figure, who had just landed beside him. "You...?" he gasped, astonished at the fighting prowess just displayed.  
  
         "We will not let him best us!" Obotchaman yelled out, staring out at his enemy like a commander at the front lines. "I already ceased giving him my jealousy energy! Follow my lead!"  
  
         The monkey-boy hesitated for only a moment before finding himself once more. "Gotcha!" Goku said determinedly, grabbing his Nyoibo and pulling out from where it was stuck in the wall and throwing it into his sheath. "No way is this stupid thing gonna kill Arale!"  
  
         The girl herself fell back into a battle stance, her face eager and excited. "Two fights in one day!" she said, smiling up at the huge monstrosity. "I'm lucky lucky!"  
  
         Chichi said nothing, but just looked quietly at her feet.  
  
         The Magic Battle Crab SI loomed over the foursome, eagerly brandishing its drill-arms. "A triple threat, eh?" Dr. Marushito sniggered from the voice box. "Fine, I'll take out all of you!"  
  
         "Here we go!" Goku, Arale, and Obotchaman cried out simultaneously, and the crowd watched on pins and needles as they darting up and towards the latest grand battle.  
  
         Goku and Arale began the assault by bludgeoning the beast with a hail of punches that impacted against the robot's frame. {BATTABATTABATTA!} As the drills swooped down for appropriate retaliation, they darted out of the way of danger, leaving Obotchaman to take the middle. With a cry, he launched a furious punch towards the belly of the crab, pushing in the metal with a satisfying {CRUNCH!} He then jumped up and over the beast, ready to launch an attack from the rear with the other two.  
  
         The crab whirled around, murder in its red, robotic eye. With a flash of crimson, it emitted a heat ray similar to the one Chichi had utilized earlier, scrapping the ground in search of a deep-fry fricassee. {BWAAANNN!!!} Currently on the receiving end of the blast, Goku and Obotchaman ran at breakneck speed to avoid it, making a half circle around the beast. Yet Dr. Marushiro's mean machine was not to be denied, and it continued to fire its deadly beam after the duo, chasing them down like a snake of fire.  
  
         Of course, while Dr. Marushito was busy concentrating on the two boys, it left ample opportunity for Arale to sneak up behind his invention. With a small giggle of mischief, she grabbed the Magic Battle Crab SI and began to lift. With titanic, cybernetic strength, she hoisted it above her head, causing its little legs to scurry about helplessly. "Alley oop!" she cried out as she tossed the bot high up in the air, its arms flailing in some desperate attempt at flight. {FWEEN!!!}  
  
         But they weren't quite finished yet, as Arale proved by leaping upwards to follow the crab's ascent. {VMM!} Joined by Goku and Obotchaman, the three of them pounded away at the machine in midair, treating it as if it were a tossed pizza crust. {BWOK!BWOK!BOWK!} Blow after blow met the hardened steel of the outer shell, and they were sure they could hear Dr. Marushito's pained groans emanating from within the contraption. Soon, the crab, Goku, Obotchaman, and Arale all fell back to the ground once again, with the crab clearly the loser in this scuffle.  
  
         The Magic Battle Crab SI had landed on its shell, rolling around like a tortured turtle. The machine's drill arms waved helplessly, struggling to find something that could bring it back upright. For a moment, the three fighters dared to hope that they had won this fight.  
  
         "I will not be defeated!!!" Dr. Marushito declared, and his bot made a spectacular leap back to its feet, drills ready for action. Well, it was a nice thought, at least.  
  
         "No good!" Goku shouted, gazing disdainfully at the crab. "It's too tough!"  
  
         "It's tough-tough!" Arale added, this time not amused.  
  
         "Miss Chichi, please help us!" Obotchaman called out behind them.  
  
         But the girl remained passive and unmoving, her head tilted downwards so that her hair fell over her eyes in a disturbing image. The other three had no time to tend to her hesitations as the machine soon began moving again. It bore its drills like the claws they substituted for, shining in the light of the stadium.  
  
         Then, the Magic Battle Crab SI suddenly began a transformation. It raised the two drills high up in the air, which had stopped spinning for the moment. {VVVN!} each drill began to split apart in the middle, like walnuts cracked on a Christmas eve. Then, the drill segments fell away and onto the ground, revealing large, prosthetic claws in their wake.  
  
         "Whahaha!" Dr. Marushito hooted, safe in the machine. "How do you like these babies?"  
  
         "That's dumb!" Goku said bluntly, momentarily distracted from fighting. "If ya wanted to make a crab, ya should've had the clampy things from th' beginning!"  
  
         A large, pulsating vein somehow appeared on the side of the crab-bot. "How dare you insult the integrity of my greatest achievement!" he roared, opening and closing the claws rapidly. "I'll teach you some respect!"  
  
         And before anybody knew what was happening, the claws suddenly extended seven meters forward and snatched up Goku and Obotchaman. {CLAMP!} {CLAMP!} The two yowled in surprise, setting about trying to retch the claws open again. But even for their considerable strength, they didn't have quite enough strength to free themselves from the mad scientist's mechanical grip. "Not so mighty now, are we kiddies?" he laughed, relishing in the struggling motions that they made in their desperate attempt for escape.  
  
         Arale put her fists to her mouth in surprise. "Hoyo!" she said, her eyes wide open. She quickly trotted over to the captive Goku and Obotchaman to help lend her strength...  
  
         ...but a small streak suddenly cut her off three meters before she arrived in front of the crab. {SHREENK!!!} it tore through the metal that connected the claws to the rest of the bot's body, causing both of them to fall to the ground with Goku and Obotchaman. {BONK!} Without the aid of the pressurized piston pumps that operated it, the claws opened up and released the two quite easily, who promptly turned around to stare at their rescuer. That certain raven-haired lass was still in the follow through of her punch, but she quickly turned back towards her new opponent, her fury righteous and powerful.  
  
         "I don't know much about your plans, but I can't let you hurt Goku!" Chichi said, narrowing her eyes. "Or Obotchaman!"  
  
         Obotchaman's face slowly softened up with a small smile. "Miss Chichi..."  
  
         "Okey dokey!" Arale cheered out of the blue, raising her fist in the air. "Now that everyone's friendly friends, let's have a real good time and beat up the crab!"  
  
         "Right!" the other three answered simultaneously, jumping quickly away from the Magic Battle Crab SI and to the girl's side. {VPP!} Together, all four of them went through a vaguely Tai-Chi motion, rotating their arms until it landed them in the same fighting position. Their faces ranged from powerfully determined, to cheerfully excited (Arale) as they all readied themselves for the final push.  
  
         And if this were a sentai anime, there would a four way split in the television screen as they all cried out in the same tone of voice: "Let's do it!"  
  
         In a kaleidoscope of fury, the foursome swirled towards their foe and enveloped the machine in a flurry of stylish and unorthodox attacks. {BISH!}{DFFT!}{KONG!} With the added assistance of Chichi, Dr. Marushito found himself completely overwhelmed, double so, now that he had no drills or claws to defend himself. It was enough to make some of the fighters feel almost guilty at the extreme beat down they were giving him. But he was a bad guy, so who cares.  
  
         {KANG!}{KANG!} Goku swung back and forth with his Nyoibo. {BUDDABUDDA!} Chichi battered it in like modeling clay. The Magic Battle Crab SI was truly on its last legs, resembling a junkyard heap more so than a tuned, fighting machine. Soon, its little legs failed, and it crumpled over haphazardly into an awkward position, unable to move effectively.  
  
         {VWOP! VWOP! VWOP!} One spinning somersault landed Goku back on his feet some distance away from the mangled machine. With a wide grin, he turned back to his purple-haired partner. "Let's give it the final blow!" he suggested eagerly, finally ready to finish these matters.  
  
         Arale was only too quick to agree. "O-kay!"  
  
         The two quickly positioned themselves into a triangle with the bot, facing their foe and ready for action. Goku began a circular motion with his arms, while Arale moved into a half crouch and clenched her fists. Soon, the boy was cupping his hands behind himself and muttering, while his friend had opened her mouth to let out a low hum. And soon, glowing energy began to focus all around them: his, a striking blue, and hers, a radiant gold.  
  
         "Ka...me...ha...me..."  
  
         "Nnnnnnnn..."  
  
         The two bright spots were almost scorching to the naked eye, and many of the crowd shielded their eyes from the light. Obotchaman took a step back, surprised that there was another that could execute a beam cannon attack. Chichi, though, merely stared transfixed at the energized duo, her mouth open in awe. "Their unity..." she whispered, completely amazed for perhaps the first time since she met Goku.  
  
         "...HA!!!" Goku cried out, ejecting a bolt of plasma from his outstretched palms. "N'CHAAA!!!" Arale hollered, a similar blast pouring from her gaping maw. {VWOOOOO!!!} Twin beams, cerulean and saffron, crossed right at the Magic Battle Crab SI, making a perfect X before they flew into the walls of the stadium, shattering them like glass. A moment more, and they dissipated into the air, leaving the two to stare triumphantly at the destruction they had unleashed upon the great machine.  
  
         It wasn't pretty.  
  
         The crab's head had been completely torn open, revealing a gaping wound of circuitry and metal. Sparks flew freely from the flayed wires that danced like snakes during mating season. Energy meters could be seen slowly draining away, the power systems regulating them completely defunct.  
  
         And in the middle of the command chair, completely blackened by smoke, was Dr. Marushito, his expression as fried as the rest of his body.  
  
         Toppling face first out of his machine, the good doctor ate dirt as he hit the ground, his face completely concealed by the mess of shaggy hair. His hands were flat on the ground, but soon, he started clawing away at the dirt in sheer frustration. He was brought back to the present for the moment as he heard a large foot land in his general direction. But when he looked up at his visitor, it was clear that it would've been better if he had just fallen into unconsciousness right then and there.  
  
         Dr. Marushito stared up with a weak smile. "This is going to hurt, right?" he said, almost conversationally.  
  
         Norimaki Senbei cracked his knuckles viciously. "Yup," he replied with a not-so-nice smile.  
  
         As Senbei wailed away on his rival, Arale stood smiling at the giant that she had helped eliminated. Then, she slowly fell backwards as if in a faint, her twin ponytails trailing behind her. "Arale-chan!" Goku cried out in concern, moving quickly to catch her. She fell effortlessly into his arms, her body feeling like it weighed only an ounce.  
  
         Cradled in Goku's arms, Arale looked wearily up him, managing to conjure up a light smile. "That was fun...wasn't it, Go-kun?" she said, blinking a few times.  
  
         The boy smiled. "Yup," he agreed, adjusting her to be more comfortable.  
  
         She grabbed at his shirt, snuggling closer to his chest. "I wanna spend everyday having fun," she told him, her eyes going hazy. "Everyday...with you, Go-kun..."  
  
         "No foolin'." Goku replied, holding onto her a little bit stronger than before.  
  
         A collective "Awwww!" went though the stadium stands, as the crowd practically swooned over this touching, if somewhat corny scene. Some of the audience members were actually dabbing their eyes with tissue paper. Akane and Tsuku, for their part, were letting out loud hollers from the stands, shaking their fists in victory. "You go, Arale!" Akane chanted, her face torn from its usual cynical smirk into a bright smile.  
  
         Obotchaman came over to the duo's side, and put a hand to Arale's neck. "That last blast must have drained her energy reserves," he determined, drawing his hand away quickly as not to intrude too much on their moment. "She needs some Robobitan A. The Norimaki residence always has some, so let us head over there now."  
  
         "Got it," Goku answered, nodding his head.  
  
         Chichi moved up to the others as well. "Goku, this was all my fault," she said, a tone of true regret in her voice. "I'm sorry that I caused so much trouble ova' somethin' you neva' understood. I'll...I'll accept your relationship with A-Arale from now on. Just don't worry about the marriage thing anymore."  
  
         "No prob," Goku said, his tone simple and frank. A smile popped up on his face. "Hey, you fought really good today!" he told her, bringing a small blush to the girl's cheeks. "Let's get together and fight again sometime!"  
  
         She almost laughed in spite of herself. "Okay," she responded, a grin of her own melting her troubled features.  
  
         A small cough made them turn their heads, and they found Obotchaman nervously shifted back and forth on one foot. "I, as well, offer my condolences to you two for my actions," he said, trying his best to keep his dignity in a situation where he was, in fact, the loser. "If you truly wish to consort with each other, I can do nothing to deny your desires. My only hope is that we can remain friends, Miss Arale."  
  
         "'Kay, Obotchaman-kun," Arale responded weakly, offering up a small smile. "We'll always be friends."  
  
         Obotchaman smiled gently, and his shoulders relaxed with relief. All of them, in fact, felt the tension leave the air like a retreating storm front. Even Arale, who normally wasn't as perceptive to the general mood of a group, felt considerably more at ease with everyone else through her sleepiness. They could all be happy, together.  
  
         Goku broke the peace of the moment with a loud shout. "All-rightee!" he said, ready to take charge. "Let's get goin' to the Norimakis!"  
  
         The others nodded. Together, Goku, Arale, Chichi, and Obotchaman all made their way to the exit of the stadium, which led back to the outside. They could smell the fresh sea air wafting in from a breeze that had somehow coasted in. Arale still subconsciously cuddled up to Goku, more out of comfort than anything. But Chichi and Obotchaman were content to leave them alone, relaxing in the fact that the grand fight…two grand fights, were over.  
  
         The TBA, huddled behind the desk in his booth, lifted himself up just in time to watch the four leave. Franticly remembering his duty, he went for the microphone with a start. "Wow, what an upset!" he roared into the amplification device. "From a one on one duel, to a four on one brawl, to eternal friendship! I don't believe I've ever seen such a display at any of my many tournaments! Ladies and gentlemen, there is no winner!"  
  
         The approving response from the crowd told him they were far from disappointed.  
  
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*****  
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-  
  
         Things quieted down in Penguin Village after that. The villagers returned to their normal, if somewhat eccentric lives, the buzz from the "Fight for Love Super Battle" soon forgotten. Dr. Marushito was carted off to a jail used by the old Red Ribbon Army, where he was kept secure under twenty four hour armed guard. "And I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling kids!" was a line heard constantly by the guards as they slacked off on their duty and ate their chilidogs.  
  
         Chichi and Obotchaman had a bit of a tougher time than the rest. While letting Goku go was fine for Chichi at first, she found that the backlash was quickly catching up with her, and there was many a day that was sad for her. Obotchaman stayed with her during this time, offering up his lodgings to the girl. Though his heart, too, was wounded, he truly believed that the four of them could be all become friends.  
  
         As for Goku and Arale...  
  
         "Hey Go-kun, where're you goin'?" the robot girl asked him one day, walking up to him as he prepped his Kinto'un.  
  
         "I'm headed back to Kame House," Goku answered her, strapping his Nyoibo onto his back. "I gotta explain why I ditched my trainin'."  
  
         "Oh," Arale made a slightly curious face, not entirely sure who or what he was talking about.  
  
         He grinned encouragingly. "Hey why don't you come with me?" he offered, looking over his shoulder at the girl. "You can get some great martial arts trainin' from the turtle guy!"  
  
         Her smile was brighter than a summer day. "That sounds cool!" she squealed enthusiastically, shaking her head "yes" rapidly.  
  
         And so they were off, amongst the clouds and winds on a brand new adventure. The seas and continents swam underneath them as Kinto'un made good time across the world, leaving nothing but a yellow/green streak in its wake. Arale gripped onto Goku's shoulders excitedly as she strove to see all there was to see in outside her own Penguin Village. The boy, for his part, just urged his cloud faster, wanted them to have as good a time as possible.  
  
         "It's so fast!" exclaimed, her hair flapping like a violet fireball behind her head. "I wanna run that fast!"  
  
         "You can!" Goku insisted, turning his head to grin at her. "Just start trainin'!"  
  
         She giggled happily, letting the wind hit her face full blast. Then a thought came to her, and she scooted closer to him. "Hey Go-kun, I think I know how to do that 'kissy kiss' stuff now!" she said with a somewhat mischievous smile.  
  
         Goku's face became confused for a moment. "Oh, that thing from last night!" he recalled, his eyes widening up with recognition. "What about...huh?"  
  
         But the girl was already leaning in, at a rate almost equal to that of Kinto'un. {SMOOCH!} Before he knew it, Arale had laid a rather heavy lip lock on him, putting both hands firmly on his cheeks. It took him a moment before he was able to gather enough nerve to kiss her back, putting his hand on her shoulder to steady them both. They broke apart after a moment, both chuckling with embarrassment, even Arale.  
  
         "Wow!" Goku said, a red flush slowly flowing to his face. "That sure was different!"  
  
         "Yup!" Arale agreed, with a “heh heh heh” of laughter.  
  
         The boy turned back towards the blue skies, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I wonder if Kame-Sen'nin knows about any of that wedding stuff?" he pondered out loud, bringing a hand to his chin and rubbing it.  
  
         Arale smiled for a moment, before rushing forward and embracing the boy. "I love you, Son Go-kun!" she cried out happily, squeezing her cheek against his back.  
  
         Goku looked behind him in astonishment, then slowly smiled. “Hoyo-yo…”  
  
         And {HYUUUUNnn…!} the Kinto'un tore down across the rushing seas, filling them both with the familiar rush of curiosity and quest.  
  
-  
  
                   End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes: Well, that’s it. It took about four years, but I finally cranked out the last two chapters. This may very well stand as my ultimate Goku/Arale fic. I hope it can wear the crown well.
> 
> I know I probably made Chichi too strong in the fight; in canon, Arale would’ve probably cleaned her clock. But since she spends most of this fanfic getting kicked around as the bad guy, I wanted to let her get in a few licks, too.
> 
> Dr. Marushito is indeed supposed to be dead. (he appeared as a ghost in the last volume of Dr. Slump) In my favor, though, death never stopped Akira Toriyama from bringing Taopaipai, Frieza, and numerous others back from the grave. Hey, you just can’t keep a good villain down, eh?
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> List of Names Given to Arale by Chichi:  
> 1\. Little Tramp  
> 2\. Floozy  
> 3\. Evil, Purple-Haired Hussy  
> 4\. That Other Woman  
> 4\. Home Wrecker
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> Until next fanfic, ja ne!
> 
> Goku/Arale: Bye-cha! ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: Well, I hope that wasn't too confusing. Anyhoo, Arale is the main character of Dr. Slump, an android girl who made a few special appearances in Dragon Ball. I'll do my best to fill you in to all the characters making cameos here. Look for information in the omake at the end of Tale 2, if you're interested.
> 
> And Goku/Chichi fans, beware…
> 
> Additional Disclaimer(s): None, unless you count the Crayola thing. (and that's kinda self-explanatory)
> 
> -  
> -
> 
> Teaser: Now that Goku's back in Penguin Village, Arale's going to give him the grand tour. What fun! But one girl's not so happy about the monkey boy's retreat to this strange place. She's going after him, and she's not going to like what she'll find!
> 
> Coming up, in the next exciting episode of "From Penguin Village with Love!"
> 
> Until next time, Ja ne! ^_^


End file.
